GSTA: Unova
by Noteleks
Summary: Sequel to Gotta Steal Them All? Sam is now in Unova, almost a year after the events of Sinnoh. Thinking it must be safe to return home now, he has to find a way to contact Riley secretly, but it's destined to be difficult in this police state. The Unovan Police are a skillful force to be reckoned with. If Sam can't stay out of trouble, Team Plasma will be the least of his worries.
1. Chapter 1

**Gotta Steal Them All : Unova**

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Shadows flickered off the flaming torches, the light conflicting with the sunlight that streamed in through the windows in a desperate effort to hide the shadows that lingered in the hall doused in the corruption of the man who stood before the red carpet. The pale sunlight lit up the ends of his pale green hair, streaked with silver as it curled in locks over his shoulders down to the leather breastplate of his robe. His arms were folded, hands tucked into the large, satin sleeves and a proud smirk beneath a brow permanently furrowed. His single red eye perceived his domain perfectly, his other eye protected by a red lens that blocked out all light.

"Ghetsis… We are ready to begin."

"Thank you. Ensure the boy does as he's told and escort him to the after ceremony immediately. Take note of his words and changes as he wishes. I will approve them later."

"Sir, some of the sages are worried about the boy's state of mind… What if he proposes something… Silly?" the sage asked cautiously.

"Better humor his silly ideas than those that affect our true path," Ghetsis returned dryly.

"Yes, sir. Of course… But the grunts are concerned that there will be a change in uniform… To something of a knight's armor."

Ghetsis turned and looked at the sage for the first time, seeing the bald head and white handlebar mustache of Gorm. His single eyebrow raised and he squinted his eye curiously. "We haven't discussed a uniform change… But I suppose it couldn't hurt anything. But we can talk more of this later, for now please go get the others so we may begin the ceremony."

"Of course!" The large man exclaimed before he tottered off quickly.

Ghetsis sighed to himself and rolled his eye. "That boy…"

As the sages assembled slowly behind him, his two daughters stepped forward, the toy crown that Ghetsis had bought for a rather nice bargain rested on a pillow held between them.

"Father, we brought you the crown." Anthea announced with a forced smile.

"Just as you asked!" Concordia added cheerfully. Ghetsis took the crown with a pretense of cautiousness and a warm smile at the two girls he had raised, though they were not of his own flesh and blood. The ceremony proceeded in the same dignified procession as Ghetsis planned and Natural was as gullible and naïve as expected.

And the sages did as they were expected- they took him afterwards and ensured that Ghetsis didn't have to put up with listening to the boy's silly ideas himself as he celebrated internally the coming of his beloved.

He walked through the halls, enjoying the silence, slowly working his way to a massive outside patio. He was relaxed, confident. The joy that coursed through him affected his stride, lending every step a small bounce. That is, until he heard the unmistakable sound of his hydreigon roaring ferociously- a signal that someone was near it that shouldn't be.

He quickened his pace, not willing to run and disturb his damaged eye for a mere unfortunate grunt. As he neared the cage where the hostile dragon was kept, he heard Natural's voice as well as the panicked voices of Anthea and Concordia.

_Arceus be damned! Not again!_ The chamber was a long hallway away with many turns. Cursing his damaged eye that throbbed with every step, he ran to the chamber shrugging off the cumbersome robe in favor of the simple cream colored shirt and khaki's underneath as screams of fear or pain erupted and ferocious roars echoed.

The door burst open as Natural fled from the dangerous teeth, claws, wings, and the whiplash of the tail. Ghetsis ran up to him, checking quickly to see if the foolish boy was alright. He had small scratches on his faces, but nothing serious.

"What happened? Where are Anthea and Concordia?!" he asked, harshly with impatience and anger.

"Father, I was just trying to help the-" Natural began, guilt and fear apparent on his delicate features.

The rest of Natural's idealistic protesting were like a whisper under the scream of terror that came from one of the girls following a roar. Ghetsis pushed them both aside and ran into the room- seeing his hydreigon cornering a terrified Concordia. Anthea was over by the cage, hands over her face as she tried to protect herself from the lashing tail.

"_Daddy!"_

Natural was purposely lured into seeing Ghetsis as a father, but he was nothing but a tool. Anthea and Concordia… He had taken them in for the purpose of raising N, sure. Anthea was the first girl he adopted for this purpose. She had grown bitter- she resented N's special treatment, whether she recognized that or not. Concordia, however, was just a sweet young woman he had stumbled across living in the dangerous streets of Castelia not too many years back. Anthea had vented to the girl vehemently, but Concordia had a deep-set loyalty to the man who pulled her off the streets and had been nothing but helpful.

Ghetsis wouldn't have done it for Anthea, maybe not even for Natural (though it would have been inconvenient for the boy to die now), but Concordia was simply special to him.

He slid across the floor to stand between her and his hydreigon, who would listen to him… If it recognized him at all in it's current rage. Not that it mattered- Ghetsis knew how to handle his own dragon. Concordia escaped as soon as the window was presented. As she started to leave, one of the brainless heads went for a strike at her. Ghetsis quickly stepped to the side.

The needle sharp teeth of the head bit down ferociously on his right shoulder; blind to what it was actually eating while the main head recoiled with alarm. Luckily for it and Ghetsis, his cofagrigus was nearby and quick to react. The ghostly hands extended out, throttling the other head that was searching for a bite and encircling the dragon to pull it down to the floor. It resisted the pull of the unfamiliar hands violently, and the head that had clamped down on Ghetsis's arm loosened its hold to seek this new opponent.

Released from the hold, Ghetsis kneeled on the ground, clamping a hand over his damaged right shoulder. In front of him, the hydreigon let loose angry roars and gnashed at the cofagrigus with its sharp fangs, fighting brutally. Concordia ran in with the ultra ball he had originally caught the beast in and recalled it to the ball. Seeing Ghetsis, she dropped it and ran to his side.

"Dad? Daddy, are you okay?" Concordia asked, her amber eyes sparkling with tears and her pretty features scrunched up with concern.

He stood slowly, looking at his right hand grimly, his face ashen. Concordia helped him up and looked at his limp arm with wide eyes full of questions.

"I can't feel my arm…" he said, answering his question and solidifying his hypothesis as he tried again to simply move his fingers and watched them hang useless and still from his dead arm as he removed his hand from his shoulder to see straight down to the bone- all muscle and skin had been ripped away.

* * *

Under the careful watch of the full moon, the tide came in, lapping at the posts holding up the docks and sparkling with the radiant light the moon gave off. A breeze picked up the water's warmth from the day and brought it to the small town of Nuvema, making what may have been a cold night pleasant. While most of the three houses were dark under the night sky, the kitchen light in one house was still on, shining down on two people.

Sam threw the three pokéballs that he had in his bag with the rest of his meager belongings. He wasn't worried about it though- he'd lived off less and in worse areas. Sarah sat at the table in the chair across from him, rubbing her brow with one hand and staring at the beautiful ruby necklace and matching earrings under hooded lids and bags under her eyes.

"You know… You really can stay longer," she said, trying not to be too forward but wanting to speak her mind.

Sam just smiled at her as he secured the bag closed. "No, I really can't. It's been almost a year so I'll quit imposing on you. Besides, I have another commitment that I need to take care of." _A whole guild full of people. Steven is probably going to lock me up after this._

Sarah's frown deepened just a little bit more. "Hilbert and Hilda will miss you…"

Sam paused, and his joking air faded to being sympathetic and gentle. "Sarah, the longer I stay, the worse it will be. I'll leave and you can all pretend I never came and go back to normal."

"It's not that easy, Sam… They didn't… Have anyone. Neither of their fathers has ever been around. And now you've been here and I think it's really done good for them both and if you leave… I'm just afraid of what they're going to grow up believing," she said, her bright blue eyes never leaving the rubies on the expensive jewelry in her hand; Sam's way of repaying his 'debt' though she hadn't asked for it.

Sam shrugged helplessly. "What do you want me to do, Sarah?" he asked, searching her downcast face for anything and very much hoping to not see tears. With a quiet sigh of irritation, he walked around the table and sat down at the chair across from her. "Sarah… Hey, Hilbert and Hilda are both tough kids. They were fine without me before, they'll be fine without me again."

Sarah smiled sadly. "They _are_ tough… Hilda especially. That girl will be one hell of a trainer someday, I'm sure."

"I'm sure she'll move mountains," Sam added, with a wink. "Hilbert… He's pretty strong-willed himself."

"Arceus, yes he is. That boy gets into so much trouble, I swear. He's just like his father. Never knows when to quit," Sarah said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"So who is his father?" Sam asked carefully, knowing he was stepping into fragile ground and was prepared to take it back at the first sign of trouble.

Sarah looked at him quietly before scrunching up her young face in distaste. "Charles… That was a mistake. I still don't even know what I was thinking. Thank Arceus _he _doesn't know about Hilbert. He'd never leave me alone if he found that out."

The name meant nothing to Sam, but he decided it was best to not talk about that further since it would lead to questioning her taste in men, which was not at all tactful. He was far more interested in the answer to his second question, "And Hilda's? Surely with a daughter like that, her father would want to be a part of her life."

Sarah laughed shortly at the thought. "Shaun? No. He knows full well about Hilda, he just doesn't care and I stopped trying to make him to a long time ago."

Regardless of the obvious hurt that lay behind this man's name, Sam could not help himself. "I take it there's a story there," he prompted, though very gently.

Sarah shook her head. "Shaun… I met him on my own journey. We both did, at the same time. We had a pretty distinct rivalry going and I was the better of the two of us. As soon as he realized I was a threat to his success, he put on his best face and I… Fell for it. For him and all his stupid lies," she told him bitterly.

"You don't have to tell me if-" Sam started before she cut him off quickly.

"No, it's fine. Someone else ought to know. Arceus knows that Hilda can never be told about this. She doesn't need to know that her father is a complete ass who knocked up her mother so she wouldn't be able to travel anymore."

Sam stared at her with surprise at first and then became incredulous. "Wait, and this guy is still _alive_? After that? You should have sued him- you were, what, sixteen?"

Sarah shook her head, obviously very upset just remembering it all. "Couldn't. Trust me, I wanted to but I couldn't charge him because I consented and his family would have just bought off any lawyer we could hire. He had a successful career and went off to some cave far away from here anyway. That's all that matters. I just hope that when Hilda decides to go off on her own journey, she finds that bastard and beats him even better than I used to."

"I thought this place was a crazy police state where any crime of any sort was not tolerated- surely the police would have done something," Sam questioned.

"It's different now than it was then," Sarah responded, the anger leaving her petite frame. "About forty years ago, a pair of criminals robbed many rich people of millions of dollars. The police never once caught them. That was before I was born. By the time I was ten, they started buckling down on crime. This last decade has been the worst. They just about arrest anyone they chose because they choose to."

Sam maintained his current neutral expression on the outside as he thought over what he'd just learned. _Well, shit… Note to self; don't even look at a cop the wrong way._

"Well… Maybe I'll go take care of Shaun for you, since you can't rely on the police for this," Sam offered with a joking air, just in case, though he was serious.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Sarah said with a roll of her eyes and an expressive sigh.

"I'm serious. Guys like that make the rest of us look bad. Can't tolerate that, you know," Sam joked, earning a mildly amused, sarcastic look from Sarah. "And can I just say, that I still don't believe that you're a day over twenty-five? Just for the record."

Sarah wrinkled her nose in mock distaste as a blush rose to her cheeks. "Stop it. You're too young for me anyway. You said you were leaving, so go."

Sam got up, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing his bag and heading for the door.

"Ah… Wait, Sam… If you meet a guy who calls himself Charles the Heartbreaker… Try and get 'no' through that thick head of his," Sarah called out from the table.

"I don't know, Sarah. Might be pretty hard to find a guy with a name like that," Sam said with a completely straight face.

Sarah stood up, tucking the pieces of jewelry into a shelf in the kitchen where they'd be safe. "Goodnight, Sam." She started walking for the stairs to check and make sure that Hilda and Hilbert were asleep, expecting to hear something back. Once she reached the stairs, still hearing nothing she turned back to look at the closed door. "Sam?"

Outside, Sam pulled his bag a little higher on his shoulder. He was tempted to release Cat and Michael, but decided that he would make better time if he simply traveled alone. While it was usually considered dangerous to introduce pokémon who didn't belong into a new region, Sam decided to simply take the risk anyway considering that he wasn't even supposed to be in the region in the first place. Probably not something the police would appreciate.

The route to the next city looked like a straight path with only a few patches of wild grass and not a trainer in sight. Hardly in any type of hurry, he walked slowly. Figuring on staying in the nearby city for at least the next day and see if he could located some type of map. All he needed was to find a fellow criminal and find out who to talk to from there.

He wasn't too far out of Nuvema when he heard lots of other footsteps running towards him, when he should have only heard his own. Sam paused, catching sight of the scrawny figures and moonlight flashing off their crude iron pipes that the immature roughnecks always had.

_Oh, go figure. Well, let's see how rusty I am. _Sam waited for them to come to him. Hesitantly, they all came to stop in a messy group of leather jackets and shaved heads. Sam smiled cheerfully at them. "And what are you gentlemen doing here?"

One of the young men stepped forward as the apparent leader and Sam recognized him as the same one who tried to steal from him when he first arrived. "I think you better git out 'o here. Ain't none of yo business."

Sam looked behind him at Nuvema Town. _Whatever it is they're after, it's in Nuvema Town or they wouldn't be this far out here. Not that it matters who they're after. _"And if I should decide to stick around and get rid of you?" Sam asked nonchalantly.

The punk in front of him finally recognized him. "Nevermind boys, we'll take care of him first. Then we'll take care of that stupid Graynor bitch for Charles like we was told."

Sam smiled pleasantly at the sneering punk in front of him, hardly paying any attention to the others behind him trying their best to intimidate him. The first iron bar that flashed in the moonlight took a mutinous turn on the punk wielding it.

* * *

Morning found the whole town of Nuvema soaked in dew and police uniforms investigating the scene of a battle that had taken place in the night. An ambulance had already came and picked up five of the eight men, two were wrapped in body bags and driven off to the police headquarters in Castelia City. Police officers remained, collecting evidence and taking more pictures.

Hilbert and Hilda were both still asleep, each in their separate rooms and snoring slightly. At the booming knocks on the front door that rattled the whole house, they were both roused from their sleep. Hilda pushed off her purple covers and pushed her tangled mass of dark brown hair from her face.

"Unova Police, open up please!" a deep voice called from outside, not threateningly, but with authority.

Hilda heard her mom answer the door, stumbling and stammering over a, 'good morning, officer, how may I help you?' On the flat of the staircase, Hilda looked down into the kitchen with Hilbert crouching down to get a look too.

"What's going on, Ben?" she asked her younger, half brother quietly.

"How the hell would I know, Haden?" Hilbert returned flatly, using their middle names when they spoke to each other like they always did. Sam had called them that too and teased their mom often about how mean she was for naming them 'Hilda' and 'Hilbert'.

The police officer came into the house at their mother's invitation. Hilda the man nod curtly and the extremely nervous look on her mom's face.

"Is there something I can help you with, officer?"

He removed his cap from his dark, bald head and took out a notebook and pencil from his pocket. "Yes, ma'am. Just got a few questions for you, if that's alright."

"Of course! Of course, anything I can do to help…" she said, rubbing her hands on her apron and clearly confused.

The officer offered a small comforting smile, his mustache hiding most of his upper lip, before starting. "Outside Nuvema Town, we found five young men beaten and two dead. We've determined them to be the Pier Street Gang usually based in Castelia. We're not sure what they were doing here last night, but evidence leads us to believe that they were after you, Miss Graynor."

"Me?! That's… Why?" she asked, shocked and confused.

"We believe they were hired. Trust me, ma'am, we'll get to the bottom of this quickly. I have to ask though, where were you last night?"

"I was here… Asleep. I'm afraid there's no one to vouch for that though," she answered.

"That's alright, ma'am. Have you ever encountered the Pier Street Gang before?"

Sarah shook her head. "I don't think so… I… Went to Castelia with my neighbors almost a year ago and we were approached by some punks, but I'm afraid I wouldn't know who they were."

The officer nodded, jotting down some of the things she said. She looked at the notepad curiously and couldn't contain the need to ask a nagging question any longer. "What exactly happened?"

His black eyes looked back up to her face. "That's none of your concern, ma'am. Thank you for your help. Have a nice day," he said politely before turning on his boot sharply and leaving, closing the door neatly behind him on a baffled Sarah Graynor.

He met up with his coworker, a lanky pale man with shaggy blonde hair. They exchanged glances as they strode back up the way to the Route 1 where other officers milled around in uniform for once instead of the stereotypical outfits that they used to blend into the crowds.

"Anyone know anything on your side?" the tall, black man who had just visited with the Graynor's asked his partner.

He shook his head. "Didn't a thing. They're a small town way out here, you know. They've never been confronted with this sort of thing before."

"It'd be easier if they did," he muttered under his breath. They approached their superior officer, a woman of tan skin kneeling on the ground beside one of the dropped rods of iron and looking back at the path of human destruction that had been laid.

She looked up at them and asked the same question that they had interchanged. "Did the civilians know anything about this?"

"Not a thing. Sarah Graynor wasn't even sure what they wanted with her."

"Well, stay-at-home ma's aren't usually targets for gangs," the lanky man snorted.

The woman stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I don't like this. Harry," she began, the lanky blonde man straightening up at his name, "go make sure the reporters stay back. I don't want this getting out."

Confused but obedient, Harry left to join the line of officers trying to keep the ever story-thirsty reporters back. The black man looked back to his officer. "What's wrong, Janice?"

Janice flicked her pale gray eyes up to the brawny black man before her. "I think we've got some big trouble on our hands, Mark."

His face contorted to confusion. "What makes you think that?"

"Look at this," she gestured for him to follow him back to the beginning. "the gang members were set in a very distinct formation all centered around one point, which is here. They were gathered around a single person."

"_Nevermind boys, we'll take care of him first. Then we'll take care of that stupid Graynor bitch for Charles like we was told." _

"Then, there was a man here with his hands twisted and his jaw broken," Janice continued explaining to her partner. "He must have been disarmed… And then it was turned against him.

_A man with a short blue mohawk raised his iron bar, supposedly in the blind spot of the man in front of him. It wasn't even halfway in it's arc when it was caught in the palm of his hand with the a dull thud and latched onto it in an equally iron grip. The sole of his boot collided with the unlucky punk's stomach. Before he could even double over, the iron bar was turned against him, colliding with is jaw with a crack of bone. And not seconds later, another crack sounded followed by yet another, the second louder and sickening._

"The other boy, who we've determined to be the leader probably didn't stand a chance before it collided into his head," she explained, mimicking the movements that would have been strategically made, having to stop and consider each one and make every action slowly. She whirled around from her pretense of the second blow, turning slowly on her toes and bringing her hands up into an uppercut. "This would have collided with his jaw… Snapping his head back and killing him."

Mark eyed her warily. "And the one that was found laying the other way?"

Janice paused, eyeing all markers carefully and envisioning the battle in her head. She took a step forward towards a marker diagonal to her right. She looked at the ground to her left, seeing the scuff of someone's shoes. "He was tripped."

_Seeing the flash of moonlight rise into the air, he struck out at the unprepared enemy like a black, shadowy wraith. The bloodied iron in his hand collided with a nerve-bruising whack at the man's elbow, forcing to drop immediately and tears to start pouring from his eyes. With a motion so fluid it was like there was never a pause or hesitation, he lashed out with one foot, catching another at the ankles in an unforgiving arc._

"When he fell, he would have bit through his tongue and progressively bled out like we found him," she estimated, looking behind her. Mark shook his head in disbelief. She turned back to the man who would have been standing before her. He'd fallen with a near shattered elbow and severe whiplash. She reached forward.

_All he'd known beyond the burning pain his elbow was shooting out was that the palm of someone's hand and smacked into the side of his face and sent him flying towards the ground and the black shadow stepping over him._

"He picked up the other bar laying on the ground," Janice continued.

_One in each hand, caught in midair as it fell-_

"The last two were standing close enough together-"

_-The last two took a heavily blow to face and were forced down to the ground as he landed skillfully into a quiet crouch._

She stood between where the two bodies had been found. "And afterwards-"

_He walked away, not even looking behind him for someone to get up._

"And threw the two iron pieces away like they were nothing," she finished, pointing at the two crude weapons that had been found a few paces off from the scene.

"So…" Mark surmised, looking at the scene before him with new understanding. "So you're saying that one man… Or woman, of course, breezed through these men like they were nothing." He thought back to the consideration she had put behind each slowly made move when the person who did this would have carried it all out in a matter of mere moments.

Janice's face tightened into a scowl as she summarized her point, "Whoever did this is incredibly dangerous. They need to be found. Run the weapons for prints and put a rush on it. I'm going to call the International Police- this might be beyond us."

* * *

Nuvema lay still in nervous wait until the police cleaned up the scene and moved off. Hilda and Hilbert ate their breakfast of simple pancakes quietly, both deeply considering asking many questions. Their mother ate just as quietly, waiting for the question she knew was coming.

Hilbert finally cleared his throat with a timid glance at his elder sister. "So… Where's Sam? He's usually here. I haven't seen him at all this morning."

Hilda watched in growing alarm as her mother froze and slowly looked up at them sadly. "He's… Gone. He left," she said gently.

Hilbert's eyes widened. "No… No, he can't have… He wouldn't have left without-"

"He left last night."

"Why!?"

Sarah flinched at his outburst. "He told you he wasn't staying…"

"Where did he go?" Hilda asked, far too shocked and hurt to be angry yet.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know."

Three days later saw a box wrapped in sparkling green paper and tied with a purple ribbon sitting in Hilda's room on her desk. The Graynor household was a fragile place. Hilda stood in front of the present almost emotionlessly. She'd had enough of the house of mysteries. Her mom knew far more than she let on. Everything was wrong here. She wanted to leave. There was a whole world out there that she had yet to see beyond this town rife with secrets.

After fighting insistently over it, Hilda had finally won her mother over to travel and get away from this place. Hilbert had wanted to go with her, but her mom would not allow it, saying that he was too young. In a tantrum, he had been avoiding her and she knew that he would spend the entire day in hiding away from her. Not that Hilda cared- her half brother didn't matter to her right now.

There was a different life out there for her. She didn't know what it was. She didn't know how much of an impact she would have and at this point, it didn't matter.

All that mattered was showing the world that she didn't need anyone else, and to prove to the emotionally damaged young girl beneath that she _was _worth something.

* * *

**AN:** And so we begin a new arc in a new place. This is arc is a different kind of exciting.

Note that yes, I am saying Ghetsis does not have use of his right arm. You will be tempted to argue and say 'it's his left' to which I answer, no it isn't. In the official art, he is facing the reader, thus his right arm is opposite yours. Pictures are not a mirror image.

Also, **OC**'s: I have received a few already, but I can tell you right now that Unova is a very sensitive story to place OC's in. I do not have a lot of room and each chapter has a set event to carry through that cannot and will not be altered. Do not feel bad if I reject your OC, it's nothing personal.

Huge thank you to my lovely friend and beta, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

-As another little side note; Chapter 2 will be published on 12/21/12 so you better hope that it's not the end of the world because we're just getting started.

**Thank you very, very much for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Cedar trees outside the city held orange needles, dormant for the coming winter on the chilly September day. Two white flowers, each sporting two white blossoms, danced in the breeze just off the path leading into the city that was characterized with unique, beautiful architecture and a proudly laid street. It had color, personality, and beauty, though small and located off from the hub of real activity. Walk up the road from Route 2 and you'll see the gym standing tall and dignified, glistening with the pride of an architect who had probably spent years dictating every detail. Though it could be said that the spoon running down the face ruined the building.

On the other side of the Pokémon Center stood another tall building of a modest slate blue. In no way could it compare to the Striatron Gym. To the East of the city stood the garden, the second pride and joy of the city. Marked ceremoniously with a tall wooden gate and a pond modified to form a moat around the center island. Well-trimmed hedges governed the paths, bridges stood placidly in the water that reflected fluffy white clouds, flowers bounced, and, in the center of it all, a great fountain poured unnaturally radiant blue water into its base.

It was here, in this impressive tribute to nature's elegance, that several knights stood beside their leader. Sun glinted off the polished metal gauntlets and greaves. Having been forbidden from setting up their flags on the ground (as this would surely mar the landscaping), two grunts held the flags. Sweat beaded on their reddened faces. It was chilly to others, but in uniforms of black and heavy hoods, the day seemed ten degrees warmer. Not that they dared complain or even whimper. They stood, tall and proud- chins held straight and chests swelled as their eyes gazed straight forward- seeing and not seeing the crowd gathered before them.

"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about saving Pokémon," Ghetsis began, his voice calm, inviting, and compelling to the crowd. The troop behind him could hear the strain in his voice and the sheen of sweat gathering on his brow. Still, Ghetsis was not a man to falter, to second guess. It was also important to free pokémon from all the cursed trainers as soon as possible, of course.

"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However… Is that really the truth? Have you considered that perhaps we humans only assume that this is the truth?" Ghetsis continued. The crowd listened with intense sobriety. No one in this state of complete focus noticed someone else join the crowd.

"Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of trainers. They get pushed around when they are our "partners" at work. Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth to what I'm saying?" The crowd didn't move at his question. Some exchanged glances; others performed their self-evaluations internally.

Sam stood by, very interested in what the man was saying. _He's got a point... For a 'Team' man. _He eyed the nervous civilians around him. _Though, they're taking this a bit too seriously. Plasma is a bit too extreme. Almost scary extreme... _Sam eyed the middle-aged man quietly. Something about him just struck Sam as particularly... Off and in a very negative way.

Ghetsis began again, one hand reaching subtly to clasp the other as he forgot that his arm was not capable of that anymore, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. Beings wise beyond our years that we can learn from. And what have we done to these wonderful beings called Pokémon? … We've enslaved them."

Those words hung long and heavy in the crisp air. Eyes widened, lips were bit, expressions changed, hands fidgeted. Amidst the multicolored crowd of young and old, male and female, the youthful light, gray blue eyes watched carefully with bright admiration beneath a cap holding down unruly green hair.

"That is why we are here. We must liberate Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon," Ghetsis finally finished, a touch of weariness in his voice as though the passion he had put into his words had left him tired. "We sincerely appreciate your attention."

With a curt nod at his soldiers, the flags were lifted to flutter in the breeze and he turned his back to the crowd that slowly, hesitantly dispersed. Sam looked back as far as the gate, moving off with the crowd as he had become a part of it. He had noticed the young boy who had remained and was now talking excitedly to the middle-aged man who had introduced himself as Ghetsis.

_Ghetsis's number one fan? I wonder… _Sam retraced his steps a little, inching closer to hear the conversation better out of simple curiosity. He couldn't help but reflect on the speech that had been given- Ghetsis had a way of saying things that almost every word could be remembered after hearing it only once. _Pokémon as slaves… That's certainly an terrible way of looking at it. They've certainly become a big part of the recent workforce in the last decade, but it's not like it hurts them at all and pokémon, like humans, enjoy having a purpose in their lives. Something, or someone, to fight for..._

People who'd heard though were obviously shaken from their resolve and with their relationship with their pokémon companions. _Well, until they start doing more than talk, I won't bother with a counter-campaign. They're relatively harmless... Then again, we thought the same thing about Team Magma and Aqua... _Sam reined his thoughts in as he caught wind of the conversation between the boy and Ghetsis.

"Ghetsis! That was fantastic!" the tea-green haired boy squealed, his voice cracking in his excitement.

Ghetsis had changed rather dramatically from the strong leader to a weary man of questionable health. "It needs work yet, but I'll have it polished for Nacrene City. I suppose you will be traveling with us there?"

"Of course… Will you be okay until then? With your arm, I mean."

The face tightened into a scowl that probably visited it more often than a smile. "I'm fine. We'll go there today, for now, it is important that we keep moving. You should go; we will follow shortly."

With a slow nod, the boy turned and started heading for where Sam assumed Nacrene City was. The knights dispersed, though contained to the garden in the meantime, seeming to wait for Ghetsis. Sam looked into the water below the bridge at his reflection quietly as settled into groups, seeing the two prominent scars on his face and remembering the Galactic incidents that created them as he listened in on the idle chattering.

"Ghetsis didn't look too good… I hope he'll be alright out here."

"He's such a wonderful speaker… Why isn't _he _in charge?"

"Hush! Don't speak ill of our lord, N," a female voice hissed.

A male voice grumbled as he passed. "I miss our old uniforms. These make us look like idiots."

_So… New uniforms, eh? _He looked back at them and eyed the knight suits with sympathy. _ I can only imagine how unhappy they are. _

"I agree. Our old uniforms were way better. I can't believe Ghetsis is letting him get away with this!" another male voice responded.

The group of men closest to him quieted suddenly and Sam shifted his gaze to watch a rather short grunt join their cluster in the reflection in the water.

"Well, if it isn't the new kid! Welcome to Team Plasma!"

"Nice to have you aboard!"

"Gonna get your first mission soon, I bet. We're hoping to start really freeing the pokémon this week!"

In all the congratulating and greeting, the boy hardly got a word in edgewise. He sat down with them shyly and pulled down his hood, revealing a head of messy light brown hair that looked remarkably familiar. Sam squinted at the reflection in the water for a hopefully better look without turning his head.

"Poor boy, didn't get a chance to ever wear our old uniforms. We actually looked tough in those," one of the men told him.

The boy smiled sheepishly and laughed a little bit. "I think these uniforms are okay."

Sam's eyes widened and he froze at the voice. He knew it well- very well in fact. It was Hilbert's voice. He stayed on the bridge, but further turning his face away from the Plasma grunts, the last thing he wanted was for Hilbert to see him.

As nonchalantly as he could, he turned and left, hearing Ghetsis's command to get moving.

_So Hilbert left home… If he did then Hilda has definitely left too. She'd said something about wanting to be a pokémon trainer. Was I the final straw? It's been almost a week…_

Sam walked back into the city in silence. He'd stayed in Accumula for two days and the last four in one of the hotels in Striaton where it was easier to hide in the cities denser population. By chance, he looked down into Route 2 as he walked to the tall building in front of the Pokémon Center and he saw none other than Hilda.

"Well… Shit." Luckily, he'd been in town long enough to know that if he went to the Dreamyard, Hilda wouldn't be able to follow with a pokémon that could cut the dense bush in the way. The next two people who passed the street up to the main found another in their company and disappeared in the cover of the apartment. Hilda never even knew he was there as he disappeared quickly into the forested passage and to the Dreamyard, leaping over the bush that blocked everyone else nimbly and proceeding to disappear further into the abandoned factory yard through the broken down door.

_Damn… Hilbert and Hilda. Hilbert especially... Team Plasma... Well, it's just going to have to not be my problem. If they do something they shouldn't, the Unovan police ought to be all over them in seconds. _He jumped on top of one of the oil drums and sat on it almost dejectedly. Looking around, he realized that he was completely alone. With a rather cheerful smile, he pulled out Cat and Michael's pokéballs, greatly missing their company, though they really were nothing but trouble.

Cat stood on the ground blinking in the daylight, knowing where she was. He'd let them out to play here in the morning _very _quickly. Cat crawled up in his lap and sprawled out with a tired yawn, apparently napping when he called her out. Michael went about exploring the grass quietly, searching for new forms to take.

Their quiet rest in the Dreamyard was interrupted by the sound of a vicious fight taking place on the other side of the lot. The long grass shook violently and fur of various colors rose from the green. Sam set Cat aside and jumped off the drum, wary.

The two combatants came rolling out of the grass, a purple cat that he'd heard termed a 'purrloin' and some pink fairy-type pokémon that he'd seen twice. Only this one was different. It was _very_ different. The normally glossy, velvety fur of the species was torn, dirtied, scared, shaved close in some places and long in others, the white bobtail long and wispy, one of its ears was missing, and it was very lean as opposed to chubby.

With a final war cry, the ragged pink pokémon raised its paws and pounded the small purrloin into the ground. Sam gaped in shock at the force the pink pokémon used as it left its enemy lying in the dust.

Sensing his presence next, the pastel pink and yellow pokémon glared at him warningly with its single electric blue eye, the other one was pale, cloudy, ripped, and, well, destroyed. Michael stiffened and prepared to attack the pokémon that looked to harm his master. Sam held up a hand though, signaling Michael to back off for now. Warily, he did so, returning to his investigating of the area.

Sam approached the battle-scarred pokémon carefully, kneeling on the ground and holding a sitrus berry in the flat of his open palm.

"C'mon… Hey… I won't hurt you," Sam spoke to it softly and soothingly.

The pokémon glared at him warily, but looked at the sitrus berry hungrily as it swayed on its feet with weakness. It may have beaten it's opponent, but it too had suffered and bleeding from a gash across its belly. It looked like it was on the verge of collapse.

It perked its ear up as Sam set the berry down and rolled it to the pokémon gently. Sam watched as the small feeler that hung off its only complete ear flexed and twirled, sensing all manner of things- probably even emotions, as a lot of pokémon were known for.

He pulled out another berry, hearing Cat protest against giving away her favorite treat, as the pokémon wolfed down the first. The glare faded from its blue eye slowly and it crept closer as Sam held the berry in his open palm again.

The closer it got, and the better look at the abused body of the pokémon, the more Sam wanted to help it. As the yellow socked paw reached for the berry, Sam reached his hand around and pet the pokemon's scarred head gently.

"You've definitely had it rough," Sam commented softly. The demeanor of the pink and yellow pokemon was rather neutral- it didn't seem to mind his touch but it hadn't warmed up to him either. Having consumed two of the healing berries, the gash in its side started scabbing over and closing up in the unnaturally fast healing process of pokémon.

Once finished eating every part of the berry, right down to the stem, it looked back at him, not with wariness so much as judgment. Soon enough, it was clear that Sam had been deemed worthy. In a very reserved manner that was a more extreme version of Michael, it took a few steps closer and perked up an ear with a curious chirp.

Cat chose that moment to leap out behind Sam's back and stare at the other pokémon curiously. It was clear that they were exchanging words as the other pokémon chirped back at her. Michael seemed incredibly interested and was clearly eavesdropping.

Sam watched with growing interest as he saw an impressed look enter Michael's eyes and he proceeded to talk to the pokémon himself vocally. Cat squeaked with agitation as Michael stole attention away from her. She looked at Sam, pouting.

"What do you want me to do, Kitty Cat?" Sam asked her teasingly, though putting on a mock expression of sympathy.

Sarcasm had a tendency of going over her head though. _"Maek Mikal goawhay!"_

"Can't do that. But you can talk to me instead," Sam offered. Cat seemed to consider it sulkily before nodding. "So, what did you talk about?" he asked, hoping to figure out something about this new pokémon he'd just adopted.

"_Izzen whaz tahking 'boot dey udder pokemans,"_ Cat explained.

"I see…" Sam said, mildly disappointed that he learned nothing. "Well, why don't you go play with the pokémon yourself, Cat?"

Cat looked at the grass around her and back at him for a moment before deciding that it wasn't such a bad idea and bounded off to stir up trouble like she usually did. Sam waited patiently for Michael to finish talking to the other pokémon so he could hear something a little more helpful.

It was clear from the relaxed muscles and strong stance the two male pokémon were taking that the two warriors had reached a state of open respect for each other's powers. Michael looked up at him and nodded, a sign of approval.

Sam looked at the pokémon before him kindly; the blue eyes staring back were placid and trusting. "Well… I'm not sure what you are, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, you'll need a name… Maybe something temporary," Sam thought aloud, which he tended to do when no one else could hear him.

One particular name, or word really, stuck in his mind when he looked at the ravaged creature before him. He shook his head with a small chuckle. "I must really be in a creative slump. Maybe I'll just give you a temporary name… For now, little warrior, you're going to have to be 'Patch'. It's the best I can do."

The newly named Patch didn't seem to mind at all. Really, he probably didn't care or even understand what was going on. Normal pokémon were like that, after all, and other than a fierce fighting complex, this pokémon seemed normal.

"Well, Patch… We're going to have to do something about that eye of yours. As soon as Hilda is out of the way, I'll take you to the Pokémon Center and figure out what you _really _are," Sam rambled off, bored and somewhat tired. _That's right, Hilda's here now. I'll have to go to the next city or something. What _was _the next city? Nacrene or something… Should be fine, I just need to get to Castelia soon._

A fierce hiss broke his thoughts and Sam turned around to see that Cat had been harassing a purrloin and it had turned hostile. Behind him, two dangerous growls erupted. Startled, Sam turned around again. Michael seemed just as startled as he was to see Patch become aggressive towards Cat's aggressor. Hackles raised and snarling, the pokémon stalked forward slowly. The purrloin heard and saw Patch and quietly backed away and scampered off.

Sam and Michael exchanged glances. "Well… Patch gives you a run for your money." Michael growled at him, unamused by the comment and flew over to Patch, presumably to talk, but Patch turned his back to Michael and prowled back to Sam.

Michael stared at Patch with a mix of curiosity, some resentment, and quite a bit of respect. Sam sat down on the old tile floors where he was, Patch remained standing at this side, a resolute guardian.

Sam found it extremely easy to believe that this pokémon was the king of the Dreamyard. Michael had an intimidating growl to be sure, but Patch… His growl was something else entirely. It was deep, throaty, and somewhat gravelly from the slash across his throat. When he was angry, as Sam had just seen him, his blue eye would become so dark with rage Sam could almost swear the eye was actually two shades darker. And his appearance was the final card in his favor- Patch was, without a doubt, a pokémon that had earned his place through hard-won battles that had left him scarred and his opponent likely much worse.

Time passed as he sat, not paying attention to the minutes as they ticked past. Sam tried to convince Patch to lie down, but the pokémon did not waver on his feet. He even tried to get Patch to go train with Cat, but all he did was stand and watch over his domain calmly.

Sam eyed Patch curiously; the pokémon really was an enigma. _What is he watching?_ Following the pokemon's gaze, Sam's gaze fell upon the gaping hole in the ground beside him. _That's a deep drop-off… I wonder... Are there higher leveled pokémon down there? Is that how Patch got like this? He's much stronger than any other wild pokémon._

Cat was still prancing around, occasionally peeking over the edge of the raised path. Michael, however, seemed to have disappeared. He had a tendency to do that when learning new techniques from new pokémon.

_I wonder what he found…_ He mused, not unduly worried. Michael could take care of himself, but Sam did like to know where he was. He wasn't worried about either of them until he heard Cat's excited squeaking.

Sam looked up at her and saw the little abra pointing at what he assumed was Michael and whatever pokémon he was communicating with. But Cat seemed to be ignoring the laws of gravity and was leaning way too far over the edge to point. Sam stood up immediately as the inevitable occurred: Cat started to fall.

He ran around the barrels and towards the wild grass, but he was too late. She fell and landed… On the musharna Michael had been mimicking to learn new tricks. Frightened by Cat and the sudden human appearance, the pink pokémon released a huge cloud of pink smoke. Sam reeled back as the odd fume attacked all of his senses, surrounding him. He coughed as he inhaled it and his eyes watered as it stung his nostrils and lungs.

_Arceus, what the hell is this stuff? It burns… _He tried to back out of the smoke, stumbling. He heard Michael snapping at Cat angrily and then he felt Patch pushing him out of the pink cloud. He tried holding his breath as he attempted to regain his thoughts became increasingly more muddled. Outside the cloud he sat down and coughed, trying to recollect himself and rid his lungs of the strange smog.

Dazed and rather confused, Sam closed his eyes and rested his throbbing head in his hands, waiting for the headache that was replacing the numbness to pass and feeling just a little nauseous. Eventually, he felt like something or someone was nearby… He could almost hear them talking, but it was just faint whispering. Sam looked up slowly at what was standing before him.

At first, all he could do was stare. Then a violent surge of emotions hit him like train. He started backwards, pushing off his feet to put distance between himself and the figure standing before him, trying to talk but unable to make a sound. It was a woman, covered in blood, bruises, and fatal wounds with dark brown hair and eyes, and tan skin, but the kicker was that she looked almost identical to him. Or perhaps, it is more appropriate to say that _he_ resembled _her_.

* * *

**AN:** ... I'm not sorry.

Big thank you to my super awesome beta and friend, **DarkAngelTorchic!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

The dark of the night seeped through every open crack of the room, infecting everything with a shadowy disease that silenced everything but the smallest of noises. Cat, terrified of the dark, was curled up as close as possible to Michael, who had transformed into a luxray and made his yellow tail glow with electricity as a nightlight. Both were asleep, breathing softly. Patch had chosen a tactical position just in front of the door, growling softly in his sleep at any noise he heard.

Alone with his own broken thoughts, Sam sat on the edge of the cheap mattress, wide awake. He'd stayed in the Dreamyard for what seemed like an eternity before he had finally regained enough of himself to flee from the place of nightmares. He'd heard Hilda arrive and receive a pokémon from some girl outside the abandoned yard and assumed that in the two hours that had passed, Hilda was probably preparing to beat the gym leader, whoever it was. He'd left the town, seeing no trace that Team Plasma had ever been there and walked the long path to Nacrene City in complete silence. The only thing he remembered was accidentally making eye contact with one of the little tykes at the preschool and seeing the confused reflection of hurt in the little boy's face.

He reached the city as the sun set, coating the city in a lustrous pink. He would have marveled at the city's artistic recycling of old storehouses, but he couldn't find it in him to enjoy anything at the moment- every reflection he saw was another reminder of his own hallucination in the Dreamyard. It had taken a lot of effort to conceal his true compromised state long enough to rent out one of the storehouses to spend the night. It had also cleaned out his pocket for the time being. Sam would need to make money at some point if he wanted to continue now.

It was the least of his concerns though. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts were glued to the woman he had seen (or hallucinated, he still wasn't really sure). At this point, it was causing a lot of internal turmoil and confliction.

_Why do I feel like I _know _her? I've never even seen her before…_

Sam rubbed his jaw as he continued staring at the floor searchingly. Tears started to well up his eyes again and he scowled. _This is ridiculous… I should not be this affected by something so small and stupid. _But he was. The sight of her opened old wounds he didn't even know he had, picked at scars that had never hurt before, and tugged at distant memories that were not meant to be remembered.

Most of all, she terrified him. Everything about her scared him- who she might be, why she had appeared to him, and, more importantly, what happened to her. Either his imagination was more than a little twisted, or he had seen her dead (or dying) and the image had been reflected in that odd pink mist.

_Whatever it was, whoever she is… It doesn't matter. It doesn't… You've lived your whole life without being haunted by her before and you can go back to that now. Just forget her…_

With a heavy sigh to calm himself down a little more, he considered sleep but quickly brushed the notion off. He'd tried that, but his mind refused to rest- it was still reeling. Quietly, so he didn't disturb his pokémon, he stepped outside his rented storehouse, locking the door behind him just in case someone saw the sleeping pokémon within.

The storehouse was the farthest one northeast and rented out to him by the gay couple, a poet and a musician, living in the house next door with their adopted son. As he stepped out onto the giant rose, sandstone tiles, he heard gentle whirl of the small windmill-type machines that sat on the roofs of all the houses. The autumn night air was chilly, made colder by the constant strong breeze. Sam pulled his jacket tighter and folded his arms across his chest, tucking his hands away from the wind.

"Why do I always get stuck in regions that are so Arceus damn cold?" he mused to himself under his breath in foul temper. He wasn't really sure what going out into the cold was going to accomplish other than make it too cold to think, but it was a habit of his to go outside when he really needed to straighten something out.

With no destination in mind, he opted to pointlessly meander the city and get a good look at it now. It wasn't as pretty at night without the highlights of the red sun, but it was still a fascinating tribute to older times. Eventually, he roamed down to the southern half of the city along the train track that ran through the city.

He gave the glowing Pokemon Center a passing glance before shifting his gaze back to the stones paved in the road. He stopped suddenly and did a double take, not at the Pokemon Center, but at something else glinting with the bright blue light it radiated.

_What is that? _Carefully looking for someone around to make sure he wasn't being watched, Sam approached the source of the bright glint. It was a statuette of a dragon; bipedal with a tail resembling an electricity generator. As he picked it up, he heard something rattle.

Inspecting it with a trained eye, he discovered the source to be the blue gem that created the tail.

_Well… That wouldn't be too bad of a prize if I can get it out without damaging the statue. _He toyed with the tail lightly, figuring out what moved and how far, and what didn't move at all. He slid the ring at the end of the gem off gently, not damaging it or the gem itself. The tricky part was getting the gem out of the base it was firmly set in.

_Judging by how it locks together in pieces, this must have been clamped on here. Should be able to loosen it up without hurting anything._

With a little bit of wiggling it around and using the blade of the small pocketknife he kept with him, the tailpiece released its treasure into his hand. With a smirk of small satisfaction, he tossed it up in the air and admired it.

_That solves my money situation… That's a start, at least._

As Sam started to put the dragon idol back, he caught sight of a small wooden mailbox sitting behind the other post that was supposed to go where he found the statue. Before he could jump to any conclusions about being baited by the police, he heard a young voice behind him.

"I see, so you figured it out."

Sam turned around, idol still in hand, to see the boy from Team Plasma earlier staring at him and some man with a long mustache and earlobes. Sam looked at them distrustfully.

The older man continued. "You're just the sort of man we need… A smart criminal who won't damage the prize or the cage it's in. There's something I need you to steal for me."

Sam paused and handed the kid the idol before picking up the mailbox and setting it back in its proper place. "You're going to have to be a little more specific than that."

The man nodded. "Of course. In the museum is a skeleton of a dragon. I need the skull of this skeleton. In return, you will be paid a rather handsome price and a down payment before that as reassurance."

Sam nodded slowly, leaning against the post and eyeing the boy quietly. "How much is the down payment?"

"You've already got it; that gem is a blue topaz. Should sell for a fair amount," he concluded.

Sam looked from one to the other. "Are you two with Team Plasma?"

The pair looked startled and exchanged glances, engaging in a whispered conversation quickly. The man answered him again. "Yes. We are. I-"

"I'm N," the boy introduced himself, extending his hand with bright smile.

Sam raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Oh, so you're name is N? Well, that must make me 'S' then, huh? So where's the rest of the alphabet?"

N gaped. "Wh-"

The man responded to the biting sarcasm smoothly. "N, leave handling business to me… Please." N turned to leave and walked towards another one of the storehouses where it could reasonably be assumed that it housed the remaining Plasma knights.

"I'm Gorm," the chubby man introduced himself politely. "Normally we'd have one of our own steal the skull but… They are busy attending to another matter. I understand that this is a very delicate and dangerous matter as the police are always on the lookout, but I implore you to consider the offer. We must make our move tomorrow at sunset. Once inside, we will announce when we are ready for you to steal it and we will use a smoke screen to cover the theft and our escape. We will convene in Pinwheel Forest afterward."

Sam nodded slowly. "I'll do it- you'll have your skull."

Gorm smiled brightly. "Thank you very much! I shall meet you tomorrow at 6:30 and you will be paid forthright. Good night to you, sir!"

He walked away, shooing N in front of him hurriedly. Sam leaned against the post and looked at the tall, wondrous museum thoughtfully.

* * *

Sam stood in front of the museum again ten minutes later. He'd woken Michael up and had him in his pokéball as he inspected the building without openly staring at it.

_Few security cameras and all of them focused on the entrance… These people are begging to be stolen from. Are they really _that _confident in the powers of their police force? But I suppose there's no reason to complain- it just makes my job easier. Be even easier yet if I had my usual equipment._

Deciding that there was no reason to delay further, he climbed up the pokéball statue symbolizing that there was a gym within and climbed up on the edge. Normally, he'd worry about prints, but the drizzle and general weather for the next morning would take care of that. The ledge he was on was lined with pillars and glass panels behind them. The seams of which were lined up with the edges of the pillars and the latches in the center.

"Are you serious? This is sad… It's almost not worth it," he commented to himself, with an eye roll. He slid the blade under the window and broke the latch on it. Without a hitch, he pushed the window open with his boot and sat down on the sill, looking on the room from his high vantage point. The blue-checkered carpet looked electric. A display case in the far corner reflected light from the dozens of hanging lamps. Before it was a tribal mask, and before even that was a platform with several bones on it.

On the left side of the room was a small rock of a strange gray color, meteorite, and a giant fossilized armaldo. The target of his little excursion was in the center: the skeleton of a dragonite. Normally, he question what the skull had to do with anything, but he was getting paid a fair amount to do very little and they were a group trying to help pokémon so… Why not?

The display around it had lights that were obviously hiding motion sensors, but they were only on the sides. The skull was completely accessible from the front and Michael was more than capable of detecting any system and using electrical interference to ruin them.

He pulled out Michael's pokéball and released him. Michael stared at him, blinking owlishly before turning around and locating the item that Sam had described to him before they came. Quietly, he floated over to the skull, pausing for only a moment before lifting it off quietly and returning to Sam quickly. As Sam turned away to leave he looked back at the skeleton and saw that the head was still on it.

_What?! _He looked down at the skull- it was still in his hands and it was definitely real. Michael gazed at him with a calm and intelligent look. Sam had questions, but now wasn't the time. He crawled back out on the ledge and closed the window before jumping back down to the ground and walked back to the storehouse quietly after using his jacket to hide it even though there was no one in sight.

Once safely back in the storehouse he had rented, he set it down and turned to Michael curiously. "How did you do that?"

"_The musharna taught me tricks. It is a master of illusions."_

"So… You made a copy of the skull to sit on the skeleton? … How long will it stay there?" Sam asked, mystified by this new development.

"_It will hold for until the moon rises unless someone touches it or wind messes with it," _Michael explained simply.

"They said they were going to use a smoke bomb… That ought to be enough to destroy the illusion. I like these new powers Michael, what else can you do?"

Michael responded with action instead of words, which was more common for him anyway. He disappeared. Sam's eyes widened with surprise and searched for the little pokémon. Michael reappeared in front of his face suddenly.

"You can become invisible?!" Sam asked, excited by this but trying to be quiet as Patch had already growled at them several times.

Michael nodded, but twitched his tail and the nod was not fully confident.

"How long can you do that?"

"_I need to practice," _he answered simply.

Sam grinned. "You may have just made my day… We'll have plenty of time to practice tomorrow…" Michael yawned and returned to Cat and Sam, finally, locked all the doors and also turned in for night.

* * *

Hilda walked down the stairs of the museum, following Lenora meekly, scared that the hefty black woman was angry, especially after barely securing the badge from her. Her dewott was thoroughly shaken and he was the only one on her team still conscious. Below the stairs, the knights of Team Plasma stood around the skeleton of the strange dragon.

Lenora stood in front of them, hands on her wide hips and a wide stance. "Now, you wait! Enough fooling around!"

One of the knights seemed to reach for a pokéball, and Hilda's eyes widened. She ran down the stairs to stand beside the defeated gym leader who had no pokémon left to fight with. Of course, Hilda put on a very tough, very strong face even though she was nervous on the inside. _I hope Dewott can handle another battle…_

"So you've come, Gym Leader," one knight sneered at her, taking his hand away from the pokéball at the sight of Hilda. "We, Team Plasma, claim this museum's Dragon Skull in the name of pokémon liberation!"

Lenora raised her eyebrows, unmoved. Her whole demeanor screamed 'try it'.

Another of the knights spoke up as the other one was silenced by Lenora's deathly glare. "To show you we're serious, we'll steal it right before your eyes!"

The first one who spoke pulled out a smoke bomb and turned his back to them nervously, missing Mr. Hawes put a restraining hand on Lenora's arm. "Well, then, here's our smoke screen!"

"_PLASMAAAA!"_

In what sounded suspiciously like a mad dash for the door, the knights disappeared under the cover of the smoke. Hawes stared after them with a strange expression of 'really?' Lenora was livid and Hilda was genuinely surprised- the skull was actually gone!

Slowly, Lenora walked forward, looking at where the skull should be. Hawes looked at his wife with open sympathy as one of her most prized works had just been defiled.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly. After a moment's pause, she ran out of the room, no doubt in pursuit of the Plasma grunts who were probably just going to keep running.

It finally dawned on Hawes what had just happened after he exchanged glances with Hilda. "Oh! Oh! We have to go after them!"

_Well, no shit, Sherlock! _She screamed in her head before following Lenora out to pursue the silly knights.

* * *

Sam waited patiently in Pinwheel forest, the dragon skull lying behind him. Michael was wondering around, able to hold the invisibility for three minutes at a time now. Sam looked up at the sky through the forest. "They said sunset," he mumbled impatiently. He waited beside a large pine tree, a rusty orange in the autumn season. Soon enough, he heard the light footsteps of the boy who had introduced himself as 'N' came into view, led by a little gray fox pokémon.

Sam picked up the skull and stood up. N's gray eyes lit up like a child beholding a new toy as he reached for it. "The skull of Zekrom… Surely this will awaken the dragon so that I may free pokémon."

As his fingers barely touched it, Sam pulled it back out of his hands. "Hold it, buddy. I'm being paid to do this so money first." _And what is this nonsense about 'Zekrom'?_

N looked very frustrated by this but said nothing as Gorm's heavy form caught up with them. "Oh, N… You run so fast. Now, that is the skull, yes? Here is your money- you did a fantastic job, it was like you weren't even there!" N nodded in agreement, a flash of respect in his eyes.

Sam didn't waste time explaining to them how he did it since they didn't actually care. He simply took his money and handed over the skull to them. N immediately snatched the skull out of Gorm's hands and hugged it tight to his chest, admiring it. Gorm looked rather pleased as well.

As Sam put the money in his pocket, he spoke up. "It's not really any of my business but… What does a dragonite skull have to do with freeing pokémon? That's what you guys are all about, right?"

N froze. "It's not a dragonite skull. It's the skull of Zekrom! It will help summon him so that pokémon can be free!"

Sam raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Sure, whatever you say kid," he returned as he started to walk past them.

It was Gorm's turn to snatch the skull away from N and he compared it to the statuette. "He's right… This is not Zekrom…" he stated with surprise.

"If you want my advice, I would return that as soon as possible… Good luck with freeing pokémon from bad trainers," Sam said with a wave as he left them.

"Wait!" Gorm called out. Sam turned back to him expectantly and the old man continued. "Can you take this to the flowered meadow on the other side of this forest. There is a grunt waiting there that we are to meet with- give it to him."

Sam caught the skull that was tossed at him deftly. "Alright, whatever." Gorm and N followed him back through the maze of stairs, ledges, streams and tall grass and back to the paved road, N turned to go to the next city and Gorm started around the other way. As Sam looked at the gate, he saw a man in neon green standing in front of it, guarding it. He let N pass through, though, since the boy didn't _look_ like Team Plasma. The man did not see Sam though so he decided not to worry about it. He jumped the ledge to the grassy meadow in the forest and approached the lone knight panting there. Sam dropped it unceremoniously on the ground and promptly left the knight to deal with it.

Just as he was about to leave the forest as it was getting far too crowded for his own comfort, Michael cut through his thoughts. _"I found someone out here. They appear to be lost."_

Sam sighed heavily and turned back towards the eastern portion of the forest that Michael was probably still in. As he ventured forward to a wide set of stairs to an upper portion of the forest, Michael appeared in front of him and then moved off. Sam followed him, walking through the tall grass with ease, none of the pokémon seemed to care that he was there.

The forest had seemed mostly normal to him- no different from Eterna, Petalsburg, or Viridian. It was clear now that this forest was very different as he looked at the huge hollowed tree trunk lying on the ground.

"Arceus…" he muttered under his breath as he stepped inside the mossy trunk. Outside it was another fallen tree and the base of one that had fallen over a long time ago. Up ahead of him, standing in front of a row of boulders, were two women, one with long blonde hair, and the other with pink.

"The field must be behind those rocks! We could climb over them!" the blonde girl argued.

The pink haired girl shook her head adamantly. "No. I don't care how important Virizion is to N, I won't further Ghetsis's nefarious aims."

"He isn't all bad…" the blonde defended quietly.

"Are you two lost?" Sam asked, deciding to interrupt their argument.

The girls exchanged glances. "N… No. We're fine," the pink-haired one replied, playing with the sash of her dress.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked again, sensing some amount of disagreement.

"Yes. Thank you," the blonde answered.

Sam eyed the boulders they were arguing over, but shrugged with acceptance. "Alright…" He contemplated asking them about N, but decided that they probably wouldn't want to answer. _Ghetsis has nefarious aims, huh? Wonder what they could be… _

As he turned to leave, he caught sight of a strange blue rock that looked like it had a breastplate strapped on to it with leather sitting in the base of a fallen tree. He stopped immediately and approached it slowly. It was covered in moss and flowers were actually sprouting out of it.

Michael reappeared at his side under the guise of a purrloin. _"This is a pokémon! It seems to be dormant…"_

Sam carefully removed the moss from the surface of it, uncovering the pokémon underneath. As he did so, he noticed that its head was slightly dislodged. _Is this what forced it into dormancy…? It looks… Broken._

Sam picked up the head cautiously and looked at the glowing base where it was supposed to sit. As he looked at it, he realized that it was backwards. He turned it around and set it into its proper place.

At first nothing happened. Then the rectangular eyes lit up with a yellow light, the swirl of its chest plate started to glow, and the same yellow light shone through the holes in its body where its limbs came from. Sam didn't move as the little pokémon stood up. It held its head and almost fell over, like it was dizzy. It made the strangest noises and could not keep its balance at all.

As Sam watched it, he suddenly realized what the pokémon reminded him of: the golurk from the temple of Regigigas.

"Hey there,… strange little… rock pokémon…" Sam said hesitantly. As he watched it, he suddenly realized what the pokémon reminded him of- the golurk from the temple of Regigigas.

The odd pokémon blinked at him and then cocked its head to one side as best as it could. Apparently, that was enough to unbalance the pokémon and it fell over. Again.

"Little bit of a klutz… Aren't you," he commented dryly, watching as the pokémon tried to get up. It was like watching a squirtle trying to get up after being rolled onto its back.

He offered the little pokémon a hand and pulled it up onto its feet. It looked at him with an air of gratefulness. Sam smiled at it, "You are definitely coming out of this forest with me."

Sam stood up and started to walk through the hollow log and the pokémon tottered after him as quickly as its stout legs would let it. As he led the small pokémon out of the forest, the man who had been guarding the gate ran past him the same way Gorm had gone.

"Wonder what's going on now… Ah, who cares," he said, answering his own question dismissively. Before taking another step, he looked behind him to make sure his newly adopted pokémon was following. It was. In fact, it was running towards him, scared. It pounced on him and latched on to his leg with a terrified cry.

Sam looked for the source of the pokemon's terror and found it; an equally mystified sewaddle.

"Oh, I can tell already you need a good strong name," Sam said sarcastically with a heavy sigh. He pulled out a pokéball and called the pokémon inside it.

When he'd entered the forest, it was 6:20, now it was 7 o'clock. Outside the gate leading to Castelia, Sam paused immediately at the sight of the bridge before him, spanning a mile of water and the city on the other side: Castelia.

* * *

**AN:** Well, my dear friends, this is the last of the 'warm-up' chapters and from here on out, we are smooth-sailing storyline fun! I can honestly say that there really isn't a 'filler' chapter in this, per say. Every chapter actually has a point (new concept, I know).

Also, as sort of a warning, I _had_ chapter 4 all written and it was done, whoo-hoo, whatever. Then, I read back through it thought 'wow, that's crap' and scrapped it! So I have good news and bad news. Good news is, you're getting a better chapter with a little more action. Bad news is, it _might_ be late because I actually have to write a chapter and get it edited in a week. What is this?! I know!

Big super thank you to my beta and lovely friend, **DarkAngelTorchic!**

Also... This arc turned out a lot darker than I intended. Just saying for future reference and all.

**Thank you to all of you lovely readers for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!**


	4. Chapter 4

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Most people didn't stop to read the electronic billboard. Sometimes they wanted to know the date or the weather, but usually, you could ask the nice lady behind the desk and get the answer without having to go through silly messages about the upcoming city. It just so happened that just this once, the electronic billboard flashed a pretty important message:

'_The dragon skull was stolen from the Nacrene City Museum. Police are out to catch suspect.'_

Sam had stopped to read it and now stood with an expression of nonchalance. Really, he was more than a little unnerved by the message. _They couldn't possibly have failed to catch that grunt standing in the middle of a clearing, so why are they still searching?_ Deciding that the electronic billboard wasn't likely to be an enlightening source, he turned to the woman behind the counter, twirling a short lock of plain brown hair around her fake French-tipped nails.

Casually, he leaned against the counter. "That's really terrible how the dragon skull was stolen," he commented.

She looked up and eyed him with surprise and mild interest. "Yeah… Guess they got the skull back, but the thief is still out there."

"Yeah? … Huh. I thought it was Team Plasma that stole it," he answered thoughtfully.

She shrugged. "I don't really know, but I heard something about them _hiring_ someone to do their dirty work. The police are pretty sure that the knights couldn't do something like that with any kind of grace, ya know."

"Oh… Good point," Sam remarked easily, inwardly cursing his fleeting moment of arrogance. _Should have known. Nothing is ever __**that**__ easy. _

"Yeah, I was like 'really?' too but… I guess that's why I'm not a cop," she joked.

Sam grinned and managed a short laugh. "Yeah… You and me both would make for horrible police officers. I should get going though- I'm sure you have work to do."

As he walked out the door, he heard her snort and mutter, "Are you kidding me? I sit at a desk all day long. That's it." He smiled to himself and considered a response but figured it was best not to. Had he, though, he would have seen her add a brief description of him to a notebook along with a list of everyone who passed through the gate.

Zipping the ash gray hoodie he was wearing up a bit in the chilly fall air, Sam looked at the familiar city and sighed. _Alright… Here we go._ Stopping in front of the glowing map billboard, he studied it quickly. _Castelia Street is right here, then Mode Street, Narrow Street, and… Gym… Street. _

"I wonder where the Gym is," he mused under his breath sarcastically. Some of the more important buildings were labeled, but none of the names other than 'Gym' and 'Pokémon Center' meant anything to him. _The Gym Leaders around here seem pretty tough, so… It would probably be smart to figure out who the Leader is here._

With his destination set for the moment, he walked around the massive arc of a street, eyeing the ships at the docks. As he passed Narrow Street, he made a mental note of how shady it looked._ Probably not a good place to get caught…_

Casually, he paused a moment lean against the brick building just off Gym Street, watching for a sign that he was being followed. He saw one man stop short in the crowd, but then he pulled out his cell phone suddenly. _Nice try… But I didn't hear it ring._

The man didn't take a step forward, and Sam pretended not to have any clue he was there, just viewing the Liberty Pier and the ship docked there. In his peripheral vision, he saw the man on the phone turn around suddenly and slipped around the building and onto Gym Street swiftly.

He almost stopped abruptly with shock, but knew better to do that. In moments, he crossed the street, hopped over the rail, and disappeared in the cover of the hedges and a nearby tree to observe who was definitely the Gym.

_Damn it all… I didn't expect the Gym to be __**right**__ there. _Holding back a sigh of irritation as he mentally berated himself for a second mistake today, he looked through the foliage at the two ordinary-looking citizens standing in front of the Gym. No one was looking his general direction with and odd look, so he no one had seen him.

_Who are those two…? _He froze as the businessman who had been standing a few paces away suddenly turned and walked right along the hedge he was hiding behind. Soundlessly, Sam pulled the ash gray hood up, knowing that it blended very well with the cement around him, which was why he wore it in the first place. The man seemed to move on casually enough, but Sam suddenly had a very bad feeling.

The two people standing in front of the Gym turned sharply to look at the bushy-haired young man running up to them.

_That's they guy who was guarding the way out of Pinwheel Forest… Of course he's the Gym Leader. Why not?_

"Oh, hello!" Burgh greeted cheerfully, flipping back his most fabulous pink scarf. "Can I help you folks?"

The woman in the pink business suit stepped forward. "Burgh, we heard about the Dragon Skull. We need to talk about it."

"Sure…? What's up? Anything I can help the police with," he offered. "Though, I thought that Team Plasma took it."

_That's what I thought… Of course officers around here run around in perfectly normal everyday clothes. Why the hell not?_

The two 'citizens' exchanged glances. "No, sir, we don't think so. One of our agents saw someone she didn't recognize in Nacrene City yesterday and that same person disappeared today just before the incident. We have also received reports that this person was in Striaton before that too."

Burgh shrugged. "Okaay…"

Crossing her arms, the woman took over. "We think this person may have something to do with an incident outside Nuvema Town over a week ago and we believe he's here now. You know this city better than most; if you see someone suspicious, let us know."

"Also, if you happen to see Team Plasma, let us know. We've been tracking some stolen pokémon that we think they stole."

"Eh? Sure… No fear, my justice-seekers, I will be as vigilant as a honeybee and watch over my city closely."

"Thank you, Burgh."

"Have a good day, sir."

"Bye-bye then!" Burgh said cheerfully as they started walking away before going into his Gym.

The two officers walked over to the other man in the suit who had been hovering around the hedge Sam was still behind.

"We're going to inform Passerby Analytics and tell them to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious. They should be able to collect the talk on the streets pretty quickly. If he's here, they'll probably figure it out first."

"Good idea… What do you want me to do?"

"Stay here and keep watch… We don't really know what he looks like, but he does stand out. He wouldn't know about the special uniforms that we have most people wearing."

_No… No I don't know about that. That's just fantastic. _Looking through the leaves silently, he saw the bulge of a handgun under the man's jacket. _And they're armed. I would really like to avoid being shot. But how do I hide from them if I can't see them?_

Finally, the officers parted ways, leaving him with just one man to give the slip. _I need to avoid notice, and I need to do that without being seen too much. Arceus, I am so screwed._

As soon as the officer turned his back to him, Sam slipped out between the two hedges and continued to take the sidewalk cautiously and quietly, avoiding getting seen by anyone in suit as he decided he was better safe than sorry. Sneaking past two other suits at the end of the street, Sam crept into the Central Plaza carefully. Looking around the area, he was pleasantly surprised to find himself without suits.

Nonchalantly, he straightened out his hoodie. "Alrighty then… Wow, I wish Michael could just _teleport_ me back to Sinnoh." But he knew Michael couldn't. It was too far away and there were limitation to Michael's powers. Everything had its limitations.

He wandered over to the fountain and sat down on the ledge, ignoring a break-dancing teen nearby. _Next plan of action… I should probably just leave the city, but Castelia is my best chance at finding someone to help me out of this place. I need to contact Riley, and I need to do that with every possible guarantee that the call won't be traced. If I stay here, though, I'm probably going to get caught at some point. I'm relatively safe here for right now, but I can't stay here forever, but if I leave now I risk being seen…_

Out of the blue, his own perilous situation struck him as funny and he chuckled at himself. _I'm an idiot. I was warned about the Unovan Police and I blew them off… I suppose I deserve this._

He stopped his musings as he saw a man in a suit walking up Gym Street with a sense of purpose. Sam quickly got up and looked at the streets around him. _Ah… Narrow Street and Mode Street… Shit, I don't have time to get to Mode Street._

With the officer getting closer, Sam bolted for the aptly named street. _Dumpster, trashcans… _He stopped to look at a high ledge that was part of one of the skyscrapers. _It's twice my height… _

Taking the risk of not making it, he ran towards the wall and got four steps up the - enough to grab the ledge and quickly pull himself up. Down the street, he could see the officer coming into view. The two punks who'd seen him talked amongst themselves for a moment before one flashed him a peace sign and a wink, though the smirk on his face never left. Sam ignored them for the most part as he grabbed hold of the ledges in the wall and quickly pulled himself up.

_Damn… This used to be easier. _Regardless of more self-berating, he scaled that wall in a matter of seconds and was standing on top of the low roof with a small flock of pidove where he was safe, for the moment.

The officer opened the lip to the dumpster, searching for him. Sam rolled his eyes. _As if I would crawl into a dumpster to hide… That's disgusting and only for incredibly desperate situations._

Confused and obviously a little irritated, the suit went through the trashcans as well, throwing the last one down with anger. The two punks were snickering in their corner and drew the officer's attention. "You two! Did you see someone come down this street?"

They both sniggered and smirked to each other, but said nothing. The suit was clearly angry now. "You will tell me if you saw someone."

"Ain't seen nobody you want to find," one answered with a smirk as the other snickered.

Unamused, but apparently deciding that he was wasting time he let the punks off with a final warning. Sam retreated into the shadows as the suit turned around and started walking back up the street. _One problem temporarily fixed… Now for another; getting back down and somewhere safe._

He strode across the roof to the other side, scattering the pidove and sending them into flight. _That building is close, but there's not a good handhold or ledge. _Looking down he saw a dumpster. _Well… I'd rather not._ Searching for a new option, he spotted a thick, unused clothesline to his left that looked pretty rusty at the base on his side.

_That would probably break under my weight… Problem solved. _

He climbed up just a little further on the building before jumping off it and grabbing the clothesline. At the sudden weight, he heard the short creak of the rusty base and then, finally it snapped and the wire dropped in a swinging arc to smack into the other building. Sam let go as soon as the ground was close enough landed gracefully on his feet and scaring the life out of a scavenging purrloin.

Like falling out of the sky was a perfectly normal occurrence, he stood up and straightened out his hoodie. "Well… That wasn't so bad." At the sound of a sticky plop, he turned around to see a little boy staring at him with wide gray eyes, his ice cream falling from the cone as it tipped out of his hand. "Never, ever try that," he told the little kid as he walked past and down the very narrow alley. Hearing a lot of commotion, he turned to his right and listened for any particular reason for it. _What is going on…?_

Curious (and concerned that it could have something to do with him), he walked out onto Mode Street and was in a matter of seconds, almost got ran over by two businessmen. _Arceus… What are these people doing?!_

He quickly retreated to the wall where he wouldn't get hit by anything. _Wait… This might work to my advantage. As packed as this street is, it'd be easy to get lost in._

Watching the human traffic for a moment, he slipped in smoothly, gliding between people and using them as cover. Crowding around a little pink stand was a ton of people that would provide the perfect cover.

_That's not so bad… If I can find somewhere around here to crash then my chances of surviving in this city will be a lot better. _Spacing out almost completely, searching for somewhere promising, he didn't notice the little old woman come up beside him as well as failing to notice the coat rack beside him.

"Goodness, isn't it lively this hour!" she remarked with a smile.

Sam jumped and snapped his attention to her. She didn't seem to notice his obvious surprise and just looked over the street with a smile. Sam recovered quickly as she turned to look at him expectantly and he flashed a charming smile. "It certainly is busy today."

She grabbed his arm and turned him away from the street and pointed at the coat rack behind them, sitting randomly in front of a fairly nice-looking apartment complex. "I was going to buy a new coat. Doesn't that one look lovely?" she asked pointing at a long black trench coat. She pulled him over to the rack and started sorting through it.

She kept asking him questions and showing him different things so, as much as he wanted to look behind him, Sam had to keep his attention focused on her.

"Isn't this exquisite? I've always wanted such a lovely coat. Pity, I think I may be too old for it," she said, setting the pink fur-lined coat back on the rack. _What the hell does this old woman want from me?_

"Ooh! Look at this one! Isn't it nice!" she exclaimed as she held up a charcoal military-style trench coat. "It has a lot of pockets- I'm sure you'd appreciate that!"

"Uh…"

"Try it on, dear!" she told him holding the coat up. With a forced smile, he walked over to where she was standing, on the other side of the rack and pulled the coat on, as she had requested.

_This actually isn't so bad… Warmer than any other jacket I've had, _he mused, testing the sleeves, feeling the outside if the jacket, and testing the depths of the pockets before pausing. _Wait… Why does she think I would appreciate lots of pockets?_

He got as far as considering asking her before she pulled out a black and brown leather, newsboy cap. "Here! Put this hat on too- it will complete the look!" she assured him jovially.

Sam accepted the cap without question, getting the sense that it was in his best interest to just go along with it for now. Then, she dropped her large purse purposefully. "Oh, dear me! I must be getting tired… Oh, but that coat just looks so lovely on you! I don't know where the owner is, but we'll have to buy it. Dearie, find my billfold, would you?"

"Sure," he answered with a smile. As he knelt down, she grabbed the bill of his cap and pulled it lower to hide more of his face and then walked away towards the street. He resisted the urge to pull the bill of the cap back up and opened the purse to look for the crazy old woman's billfold, as she had asked, but quickly realized that the purse held only a comb, a miniature hat, a small bottle of hand lotion, a leather-bound planner, makeup, pills of some supplement sort, and a bottle of green tea.

_There is absolutely nothing of value here… Not even keys. What the hell?_

"Miss Reagan! What are you doing out?" he heard a stern female voice call out.

"Oh, Annie! Hello, dear! How has work been going? You're still a police officer, aren't you?" he heard the old woman respond and he froze.

_Police officer? _He looked up to see what was going on, but only got a face full of coats as the old woman and her police acquaintance were standing on the opposite side. It dawned on him then. _She's protecting me? What the hell is going on? Why would this lady help me?_

"Yes, I am still with the police. And I thought we told you already that you can't set up a shop on the street?" the woman answered stiffly.

"I know, ear, I was just hoping I could help any homeless people around. After all, they need help from people like us who can afford it," she answered, knowing full-well Sam could hear her.

The other woman sighed. "Miss Reagan, please take your coats back inside so I don't have to give you a warning."

"Of course. Do you want some tea before you go? I have some-"

"No. Just… _Please_ get your things inside," she said before walking away. His little, old benefactor came back and he stood up to hand her the purse.

"Did you find it?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"No, but I think anyone who steals your purse would be in for a nasty surprise," he answered with a grin.

Miss Reagan smiled back at him winningly. "Would you like to help me put this back inside?"

"Ma'am, it would be my pleasure," he returned.

She pulled her keys out of her sleeve and unlocked the door, holding it open from him as he pushed the long rack of coats inside. She followed him in and promptly locked the door again.

Turning back to him, she took the white gloves off her dainty hands and wiped her forehead with a white kerchief she pulled from her other sleeve. "My, my… What a stressful day. Such a commotion going on, it seems!"

Sam shrugged off the coat, chuckling dryly. "It has been a _very_ stressful day. What do you think the city is in such an uproar for?" he asked, dancing around the real subject just like she did.

"Mm… Enough of that, it's nearly suppertime and I've barely started," she announced as she hung up her own coat and strode through the floor to the kitchen.

Sam followed her, taking off the hat and the coat and hanging them up with rest. The condo was a completely decked with riches. The floors of the main hall he stood in were tiled with golden yellow, tan, and black and all the furniture was ornate mahogany. A spiral staircase in the right corner with white marble topped steps led up to the next floor. Surrounding the square entrance was the white carpet that led in to the wide-open den and kitchen in the corner.

"So… Ms. Reagan," he started.

"Oh, no. You can call me Annette," she told him with a friendly smile.

"Okay… Annette. How did you get the money for all of this? Big inheritance?" he asked, teasingly.

Annette chuckled. "Oh, heavens no. My family was very poor."

Sam looked around at the expensive red leather furniture sitting in the living room around the white marble hearth with a steadily burning fire, the bronze lamps, and little golden and jade idols sitting on black tables and shelves. "Then where did all this come from?" he asked, confused.

"I'll tell you in due time… I just have a few questions of my own, if you don't mind."

Sam shrugged. "After helping me out back there, I guess I owe you that much."

Annette turned to him, a twinkle in her blue eyes and she pursed her thin lips together and gave him a strange look. "You're not from Unova, are you?"

Sam paused. _Probably shouldn't answer that but…_ "No. I'm not from Unova."

"I thought so… You have an accent. It's subtle though, so don't worry about it," she assured him after seeing the alarm on his face. He relaxed a little bit and she continued. "You're a thief, aren't you?"

"… Yes," Sam answered slowly. _If she was going to turn me in, she would have, I guess._

"I suppose you would know who Drake is then. Is he still alive?"

"Yeah, he's still kicking… What does that have to do with me being a thief?" Sam asked innocently.

Annette shrugged her thin shoulders. "Maybe nothing… Maybe everything. In Unova, there's a pretty nice gap between the rich and the poor…" she started, setting out some ingredients and some pots. "The other regions don't have that problem as much… Do you know why that is?" Seeing the unsure look on his face she continued on. "You probably can't answer that…"

Sam didn't have an answer to that and found himself at a loss for words. He sat down across from her and rested his chin in his hand and eyed her suspiciously. "Who are you, _really_?" he finally asked.

Annette Reagan smiled at him and chuckled. "I'm sorry, that probably perplexed you greatly. I didn't want to tell you something I shouldn't… I-" she broke off, gazing lovingly at a golden locket, her wrinkled face suddenly looked very old and melancholy. "I haven't met someone from the Guild since my husband."

* * *

**AN:** Hee hee... Did ya see that one coming? I bet you didn't. Sam certainly didn't. I will explain that... Next week! Still, pretty good action, eh? The first version of this SUCKED, I cringed reading it. But, I got this back up and on time! *bows* Also, generally speaking, I know you have questions, but you will have to wait to get your answers. I will say that there are hints and you can get the concept before I lay it out for you...

Soo... Nuzlocke Challenges? They SUCK ... I highly recommend trying one.

Moving on, big thank you to my super beta and good friend, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

**Thank you for reading and reviewing if you are so kind!**


	5. Chapter 5

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. Annette said it so simply, like it was normal, even though it definitely wasn't.

"You're probably wondering how I knew you're from the Guild," she said, nodding as if she knew.

Sam finally found something to say. "Annette, I'm wondering about more than just that."

Annette chuckled good-naturedly and went to her living room. She came back with a picture and handed it to him. "There he is… Varric, back when he was still with the Guild."

Sam stared at the picture of the young man with intense silver eyes with ebony hair dressed smartly in navy blue. Beside him was Drake, much younger than Sam had ever seen him. The mustache and prominent cheekbones gave him away. "Your husband was friends with Drake?!"

"He was. In fact, he was the first mate on Drake's first ship. He spoke of it often- those two were like brothers."

"So… What happened? How did he end up here?" Sam asked, holding back even more questions. _How have I never heard of him? How did he get away from the Guild in the first place?_

Annette smiled sadly, touching the old photo. "Even I don't really know. Varric had so many stories about the good times, but he never said much about what brought him here. All I know is that they disagreed over something."

"And Drake… What? Threw him overboard?"

"No… Well, it wasn't that simple, anyway. There was some huge secret that Drake told Varric about and Varric… And this is where things get blurry, but it was something dark and Varric believed very strongly that it was wrong. He was going to right it, he said, but when Drake found out, he dropped him off in Unova and left him," Annette recounted vaguely, but to the best of her knowledge.

Sam grimaced. "Probably hoping that he would die here."

Annette shrugged sadly. "That was his guess too."

"Do you have any idea about what they disagreed over? Drake can be pretty intense, but… This is pretty extreme."

"Varric would just mention some boy that he was so sorry for… He couldn't save him, I guess. He would always shut down after that."

Feeling like he'd pried enough, he clasped his hand over hers as she teared up a bit. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Annette," he said gently.

"Oh, dear, you don't have to be. He's been gone for almost a decade now. I miss him but I'm fine now, thank you," she said, patting his hand before sliding hers away.

"So… How did you know I'm from the Guild?" he asked, changing the subject.

She grinned. "Ah. Yes, dear, that was almost too easy for me. I saw the ship come in a year ago and I've been watching the news ever since. I still have many of my old contacts, who informed me of some thugs who were taken out by someone very skilled out by Nuvema Town. I knew that they had to be with the Guild. And then the incident with the dragon skull… Well, let's just say I was expecting you."

"Good thing for me too, or I probably would have been arrested."

"Oh, I don't doubt that. They've been rather sensitive about these things since Varric and I hit the streets all those years ago…" she said, obviously reminiscing.

Suddenly, Sam remembered what Sarah had told him about the Unovan Police. _"About forty years ago, a pair of criminals robbed many rich people of millions of dollars. The police never once caught them."_

"You guys were the couple that pissed of the Unovan Police! You got away with millions!"

She looked at him with surprise at his sudden outburst and then chuckled. "Yes… That would have been us. I am the legend in the flesh."

"I would ask for your autograph, but you've made this place hell for us," Sam teased.

She laughed. "I can imagine... But, I need to know, is the Guild going to come back for you?" she asked, concern for him open on her face.

"Yes, they are. I got in some trouble- _big_ trouble and they needed somewhere to put me where my enemies couldn't find me. So they sent me here until things died down. I'm guessing by now that it's safe to return- I just need to contact them. Any ideas?"

"Well… They trace just about every call that's made and out of region calls especially. But if you ask around, I'm sure there's someone around who can set you up with something."

"Any ideas who to start with? I'm more than a little clueless."

"I don't really know any names… I've never had use for something like that. Still, I have an idea where you might start your search. But first, you need to blend into Unova a little more."

"And how do I do that?"

"Mm… There are certain social customs in Unova… One being if you're an official and registered trainer, you have to wear a certain uniform depending on what they label you as. Varric was a veteran trainer- I still have his old uniforms and his card. All we have to do is have it edited and you can be my grandson."

Sam grinned. "I would be honored to be your grandson."

"I'm sure, and as your nana, I will be sure to spoil you rotten," she teased with a chuckle. "Now… Oh, I also have some young pokémon that I can't care for very well anymore. Would you care to take them?" she asked, rising from her seat.

"Sure. I don't see why not," he answered with a careless shrug. _The more the merrier._

She smiled at him cheerfully. "Oh, it will be so nice for them to have a real trainer! Come and see them!" Sam got up and helped her walk up the four flights of stairs to the roof.

"Varric and I were both trainers once and our pokémon seem to have had children together… They're sweet little things and I'm sure they'll be great companions… Their parents were quite the fighters, but I released them a long time ago. These little babies are all I have left."

Annette crouched in front of a little wooden house and called out to the pokémon inside. Eventually, a very small steel pokémon jumped out, banishing its blades playfully. Sam released his own pokémon so they could all meet.

Cat saw the little thing and immediately swatted it. There was a metallic sound, but it didn't seem to care at all. Michael, in turn, smacked Cat with the bushy tail of an eevee and started mewing at the little steel pokémon.

The strange rock pokémon he'd picked up in Pinwheel Forest just looked confused.

Annette stared at it with wide eyes. "Where did you find that?"

Sam was caught off guard by how surprised she was. "I found him curled up in the forest… Why? Do you know what he is?"

"Yes… It's called a golett. There are very old reports of them, but no one's seen one in a long time. Rumor is they dwell in the Dragonspiral Tower," she said, inspecting the pokémon. "He's a pretty thing… Did you name him?"

"Not yet… He needs a good strong name though," Sam said jokingly, thinking of the golett's irrational fear of bugs.

Annette tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully. "How about… Hercules?"

Sam repeated it a few times to himself. "Yeah… I actually really like that. You are now Hercules, little golett."

The newly named Hercules was very confused and cocked its head- promptly tipping over. Annette seemed startled but Sam didn't pay it any mind. "Actually, while we're speaking of my pokémon, that little sassy doll is Cat and the eevee is my… ditto Michael."

"Aww… They're awfully cute," she commented.

"So, what is the little steel thing?"

"It's called a pawniard, but I've taken to calling him Sarhan. Of course, you can rename him if you want."

"No, I like Sarhan. You said there was another one though?" he said, looking around.

"Yes, she's in here and she hasn't decided to come out yet," Annette told him, pointing inside the box. Cat saw her and promptly walked over to the little house and stuck her head in. She popped right back out in flurry of golden hair and blue and black feathers.

Sam picked Cat up off the ground and away from the little beast snapping menacingly and growling angrily.

"That's a deino… They're known for being irritable pokémon and like to bite things," Annette explained to him with a grimace. "She is particularly angry, though."

_Great._ Cat clambered up on to his shoulders and Sam knelt on the ground, petting the pokémon to sooth it and examining it at the same time. _It can't see. Its fur is spotless though…_ "Does she have a name yet?" he asked as the deino settled down quite a bit and started licking a tuft of fur that was sticking up the wrong way.

"No. You're free to name her whatever you want."

"I'm definitely thinking Diana… She has an obsession with keeping her coat clean, doesn't she?" he observed.

Annette looked back at the newly named Diana. "By Arceus, I believe she does! I didn't notice before, but that explains a lot."

Sam smiled, petting Diana, taking care not to mess up her mane. "Happy to clear that up for you."

"Are you a pokémon whisperer or something too?" she asked, only half joking.

"Haha, no. Pokemon are actually easier to read than people. Really, they really aren't that different from humans and some of them have some pretty big personalities," he remarked, looking at Cat specifically, who had jumped off his shoulders.

"I guess so… I'm not sure if Sarhan is all that exciting then."

Sam looked at the pawniard, watching it as it played with Cat. "Eh, it's nice to have a less psychotic pokémon too."

"It sounds exhausting," she said with a smile.

"Oh, you have no idea," Sam said dryly.

As the sun finally set behind the bay, the breeze became chilly. Annette wrapped hugged herself in an effort stay warm now. Sam noticed and immediately stood up and offered her his hand. "Let's go back inside… It's too cold right now to be outside."

"You're so gallant," she teased, accepting his hand and holding his arm as he escorted her to the stairs, the small troop of pokémon close behind him.

"Gallant? Huh... That's not one I hear everyday."

She chuckled. "Too busy being a thief for gallantries, I suppose. That's alright- I'll teach you. In fact, come with me and I'll show you where you can stay and let you try on Varric's clothes. They should fit you nicely."

Sam followed her as she walked down the wide hall lined with books and trinkets to a wide, solid wood door. She opened it and ushered him inside. "You can stay here for as long as you're here. It's a guest room. Several years ago, an old friend of ours used to stay here but… He used his money to buy his own place."

Sam looked around at the huge room. Tall arched windows let in plenty of light with the white curtains pulled aside. The bed was king-sized and covered in rich blankets and a pile of pillows. Two plush chairs sat in front of an empty fireplace. Off to the side was a door that he guessed led to the master bathroom. Cat and Michael raced past him, excited to have a high quality room again. They were not at all amused by the Pokemon Center rooms and even less amused by Sarah's unfinished basement. Hercules, Diana, and Sarhan were a little bit slower to accept their surroundings. Sarhan seemed especially nervous with his blades.

Diana jumped up one of the plush chairs and seemed pleased enough. Hercules looked around for a moment, trying to decide where he would go until Sarhan thought it'd be funny to poke the pokémon from behind. Hercules was apparently so surprised that he immediately fell over.

"Hercules… You're going to have to do better than that. Annette gave you a strong name to live up to," Sam remarked, shaking his head at the pitiful pokémon. Sarhan walked over to Diana and, after a testy growl from her, decided to sleep in the empty fireplace.

"Okay then… I guess everyone has their spots claimed."

Annette returned from the expansive closet on the other side of the room with several different outfits. She laid them all on the bed, avoiding Cat and Michael and set aside one in particular that he recognized as the uniform of a veteran trainer.

The red sweater was a little faded, but still in excellent condition. There was a brown shirt to wear underneath it and a pair of dark brown khakis complete with a belt and black leather shoes.

"Now, I'm not sure if the shoes will fit, you can try them on. I have two spare uniforms, but they're exactly the same anyway," she said, stepping back so he could look at the uniform a little closer.

"You know… That _does _look really close to my size," he commented picking up the sweater.

"Anything that doesn't fit can be tailored pretty easily. Go try it on!" she prompted.

"Alright, alright…" He picked up the set of clothes and walked into the bathroom.

A few minutes later he emerged again. "Yeah, me and Varric are pretty close in size. It's official now. Though I think my feet are a little bigger than his."

Annette walked over to him and circled him with a grin. "Oh… you look so handsome in that. The sweater might be a little tight because you're more muscular, but you look quite dashing."

"Okay, now you're flattering me. Though… I will say that it's not so bad. I've never had to dress even remotely nice before. This is a new concept for me," Sam remarked, adjusting the sweater a little bit.

Annette paused and gave him a look of disbelief. "You've never dressed nicely?"

"No. Why would I? Annette, I work for the Guild and we don't have a dress code. Every day is casual Friday, you know."

"So… That means you don't know how to tie a tie, right?" she asked with a sigh.

"No idea."

Annette sighed again and shook her head with disapproval. "Varric couldn't tie one either. Good thing for you I can very well."

"Am I going to have to wear one?" Sam asked looking at the other clothes on the bed that she'd brought out seeing a pile of very nice and formal clothes.

Annette sorted through them, watched by a curious Cat and Michael. "But of course! You want to make connection through the city, right? You have look like you have money for that. You must look sharp and distinguished."

Sam grimaced with distaste. "I guess I'll trust your judgment then… So how long do I have to get used to the idea?"

"Well… The dark side of this city is facing the threat of extinction all the time. When Varric was alive, he told all our friends here so many stories about the Guild and how it maintained balance. We have banded together strongly ever since. To help with that, there's a suite in Narrow Street across from the Sonata where we gather at random times for a formal party."

"And that's where the tie comes in," Sam inferred with a sigh.

"Yes. Mind who you tell that you're from the Guild though, or you'll probably be swarmed. The police are always close at hand too. They are actively looking for a reason to arrest anyone who attends so be careful," Annette explained, sorting the clothes into separate outfits.

Sam shrugged. "Well, I guess wearing a tie is a small price to pay. There will be a lot of people there who can help me, I take it?"

"All kinds of people attend for the same purpose as you; to find contacts to accomplish specific missions. Thieves, conmen, hackers, forgers, and the few assassins that there are all go. The host of the party is a man named Peter Luther. He's a friend. If you talk to him, he can probably set everything up for you."

"Alright. I guess all that's left is to pick out a spiffy outfit and go. When is the next party?" Sam asked, accepting the dressing up part. It wouldn't kill him.

"I think it's in a week from now and I will make sure you look absolutely dashing. Also, as cute as your hair is down and shaggy like that- we're going to have to do something with it," she pointed out, already putting together a proper picture in her head.

Sam sighed. "Whatever needs to happen is fine with me." Annette smiled at him winningly in response. _Or maybe not…_

* * *

Brightly lit and decorated all over with cute trinkets and pretty smelling flowers, sparkling white and perfectly clean floors accented with bold colors furnished with modern and traditional ornate furniture; this was the home of a multitude of people of questionable profession, tucked so perfectly and skillfully away that no one could ever hope to find it. Psychic pokémon were used to get in and out of the building since there was not a door to the outside world. It was skillfully hidden away in Johto among the mountain range that sported Mt. Silver.

A hall of mirrors reflected a man in a dark gray and black clothes and platinum hair slicked back sharply walking down the halls with bearing, his muscled frame mostly covered by the professional attire. He knocked on the French doors at the end of the hall twice before opening them forcefully.

"Madame…" he called out, expression and voice betraying no emotion. Not even irritation.

"Yes, yes… Cyrus, I am coming," she answered coming into view in tight jeans and white blouse, her long black hair pulled back with a butterfly brooch made entirely of diamonds. Instead of the blood red lipstick, it was a more pink color.

Cyrus didn't ask about her odd appearance, he really didn't care. "This is a very important meeting according to you- so how is that you aren't ready on time?"

"Oh, shush, dear. It's only been five minutes. Besides, it was important business," she replied calmly, flicking her crimson gaze at him for a moment before finishing putting on a necklace with yet another butterfly on it and looking at the mirror to ascertain that her appearance was presentable before walking out of her room with him, red heels clicking sharply on the tiles.

Cyrus closed the doors behind her and walked beside her, closer to an equal now than when they first met a year ago. He had gone from resenting her to grudging respect and finally to a seeing her as a wise mentor. It had dawned on him that he was meant to learn from her- so he did. Looking over at the woman he had grown rather fond of over time, he couldn't help comment, "You've been incredibly happy lately. What is the matter with you?"

She chuckled. "Oh, Cyrus… What do you harbor against my happiness?"

"It's weird," he stated.

She sighed heavily, clasping her hands over her heart. "I'd explain it to you, love, but you wouldn't understand these feelings so I won't bother."

Cyrus said nothing further since she was probably right about him not understanding. They reached the doors of the meeting hall presently and he opened the doors for her politely and followed her in to take his seat at her left hand, the right hand chair always left empty.

Spencer Brennan smiled at her and winked, taking a drag of his long cigarette. "Madame, you lovely flower, where have you been hiding?"

"I was just hoping to clarify much-needed details. This meeting is about the last preparations," she said calmly.

Elva Ramsey, the resident angel of vengeance, flicked her brown eyes up at the Madame. "I want to stay,"

"I understand, dear. Please allow me to finish," she answered with that slight dangerous purr in her gravelly voice. "Now. Jonah, my dear, how are the mines? Did you find what I asked for?"

Jonah, a tall man with deeply tanned skin dressed in a ragtag brown suit, nodded. "It took a lot of digging, but we found the meteor. I had it melted down to this- might be hard to shape it though."

Her eyes glittered happily at the sight of the gleaming, chrome-like metal. "Lovely! Thank you, my dear. And the mines- are they still fertile?"

"Very much so, Madame. I found a new one to tap into that is yielding plenty of expensive materials," he answered.

"Excellent… Most excellent indeed. Thank you very much for your service, Jonah," she said.

"It's my pleasure."

She smiled pleasantly at him before turning her gaze to the laid-back woman beside him with eyes like moss and carefully styled wavy brown hair. "Dollie, how are the raids?"

Mona Klein, otherwise known as Dollie, played with the collar of her gray suit jacket. "It's been almost unhindered. The Guild and the police are a pain, but nothing we can't handle. We've gathered almost every pokémon there is now and all of them are being trained as we speak. A trainer in Kanto started getting too cocky, so we stole his pokémon. They proved incredibly hostile so I had them killed after all efforts to control them failed," she stated, smirking as she spoke of killing the innocent creatures.

Madame smiled and giggled. "Dollie, I should know better by now than to ask if you can handle anything. It's good to know that you have such a handle on things. Are there any hitches?"

"Not at all. I will inform you immediately should something pop up," Dollie reassured her.

"Thank you, Now, Eddie, dear, how are our supplies?" she asked the merchant next.

His normally playful olive green eyes looked mildly troubled. "Our supplies are fine; we could survive for months on what we have. The gems from the mine sell for fine prices. Our ledger shows substantial income every month, Arceus praise our good fortune."

"And yet you look worried," Cyrus interrupted coolly.

"Aye… Drake has caught wind of our ships though. He sunk several ships recently. We may have to cease trade with Hoenn," Eddie explained.

Madame shrugged. "Then we will cease trade. It's unfortunate, but we'll survive without it. Or is there something else wrong?"

"I just worry he'll move his navy to Sinnoh if we don't give him a reason to stay in Hoenn which would be disastrous," Eddie pointed out.

"Now _that _would certainly be a problem. He's always been territorial, but I'm sure if he knew about Sinnoh he wouldn't hesitate to pursue us," she stated, resting her chin on her interlaced fingers quietly. "Do we have any ships we could spare? Send them over to Hoenn to keep Drake busy?"

Wilson, rather _Captain_ Wilson Patel spoke up, being more of an expert on ships, "We have a few toy boats… We be bett'r off jus' piratin' other ships and using dose."

"That would also keep expenses down…" Eddie observed, playing off his close colleague's wisdom.

"That'll tide us over for now. It will be easier once I have all the pieces. Covenant Corporations is slowly coming together… I trust you two to handle this effectively," she said, looking at the two capable men with respect.

Wilson guffawed, throwing his head back. "Oh, ye kin be sure of that! Drake in't but a wee krabby pinching fer attention."

Eddie smiled, pleased at the productive outcome of the conversation. "Of course! We have Arceus watching over us."

Everyone in the room exchanged glances, but hearing that Arceus was on their side had become less of a big deal after hearing it hundreds of times from the spiritual man. Madame kept her gaze on Wilson. "Dear, do you have a ship prepared for us?"

"The finest for ye, little floosy," the captain said, laughing.

She raised an eyebrow and Cyrus could sense the upcoming banter, so he cut it off before it began, looking to menacing shark of police officer. "Cherry, what do the police know of us at this point? Are they still oblivious?"

She nodded curtly. "Yes. They are completely clueless. Champion Lance, however, has been a bit of a thorn. The Guild seems to suspect _something _but they aren't sure what to look for or where to start. Though I suspect that by the time they figure it out it will be too late."

"I trust you have also erased all reports indicating our existence?"

"Of course, sir. I was not caught either. I am being promoted to detective soon and I hope to be of even more use then," Cherry Stanley answered, dutiful to a fault.

Madame jumped back in now after a brief exchange with Wilson. "And what of you, Harvey? What can you tell us?"

"The Guild seems to be… Waiting. Like they're holding their breath, just waiting for us to jump out at them. I think they know more than we may think. That or they are waiting for someone…" he said, blushing from the sudden spotlight.

"Who would they be waiting for?" Cyrus asked, confused.

"I wouldn't know… But I've heard that Drake sailed out to Sinnoh and then to an unknown destination before returning back. I have no way of knowing for certain, but they may have put someone in Unova."

The Madame's face changed greatly. "Why? What reason would they have?"

"I don't know. But they have done that several times before. I would guess it is to gather intelligence on the region. Any time that they have, it has been the will of the Thief Lord and it truly _is _impossible to understand him. The title changes infrequently and no one ever knows when the power has changed or who it went to other than to say that it wouldn't stay in the family," Jay Harvey explained, relying on his insider knowledge of the Guild.

Cyrus leaned back in his chair. "We need to find out who the current Thief Lord is…"

"Yes, we do… But we know far too little about him," the Madame answered bitterly. "I have tried to find that out for years now… With absolutely no avail. He's extremely clever though, with a great knack for war as he proved with Team Rocket and, I'm sorry, Cyrus, Team Galactic. His right-hand, a very skilled assassin who carried out all of his orders, is dead now so we at least have that shred of comfort…"

"What will it take to find out?" Eddie asked.

The Madame sighed and frowned. "Quite a bit. We'll worry about the Guild as a whole for now. I will continue digging into it as I always have."

"Now, now, lovely lady, you shouldn't look so down," Spencer Brennan teased with a grin around his cigarette, sitting quietly until this point.

Cyrus once again interrupted the possible banter between them. "Have you done anything, Spencer?"

He took a long drag of the cigarette and blew of ring of smoke at his face. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. I've do quite a bit in my spare time."

Cyrus scowled, always at ends with Spencer. "Like what?"

"Ladies… Men… Both. I don't like to limit myself," Spencer answered with a grin.

Dollie rolled her eyes. "Why is it always about sex with you?

"It's not always about me. It's about other people too."

"Spencer, did you learn of any useful information concerning the Guild?" the Madame asked, her patience infinite when it came to Spencer Brennan.

He took another long drag of his cigarette. "When you put it like that… I sent one of my girls out and she managed to track down that Conrad fellow. According to him, and this is when he's drunk so it may or may not be accurate, there are four very skilled assassins working for the Guild right now that are viewed as the go-to group when it comes to fighting us."

"Who?" Cyrus asked as pleasantly as possible, knowing that Spencer wouldn't answer if he was too gruff.

"Conrad himself, a lady named Myra… Or Lyra or maybe Sarah, a fellow named Robert or Roger… That one was little hard to understand and then a 'sssss'."

Cyrus stared at him. "What?"

"Sssss… Like a snake. He passed out at that point," Spencer answered.

"You could have just said that instead of… Never mind," Cyrus said with a sigh, knowing better than to pursue a battle of logic with the man.

Elva watched the Madame's face expectantly, her brown eyes intense. Catching the look the Madame answered the unspoken question. "Elva, you are free to kill Conrad. However, I want no mistakes. Work with Spencer; he will help you."

"Hey, pretty baby," he said with wink in Elva's direction.

"Spencer, behave."

"Of course."

"Now, in closing, I must inform you that I am leaving for Unova very soon… And I will be taking Cyrus with me," she stated.

Cyrus looked at her sharply. "I thought you were going alone."

"Of course not, I always planned on taking you with me," she answered him before continuing. "You know how to contact me if something goes wrong but I trust the eight of you to handle our absences."

"Of course, Madame. You will not be disappointed," Cherry said, standing up suddenly and saluting.

"Speaking of all of us; what about that one really stiff Aaron and the really cute boy… Adyran?" Spencer asked.

"Both will be coming with us. I originally intended to have Adyran for this specific purpose. While there, the superior technology at hand should result in the greatest computer virus of all time: one that can hack into the PC's of the Pokémon Center and steal all the pokémon in it."

Dollie whistled. "That would be a blow to the Guild for sure."

"It would be devastating to the Guild," Jay Harvey corrected quietly.

"It would indeed. Now I'm sorry to cut this short, but I must prepare to leave. Cyrus, you as well. Good day, ladies and gentlemen," she finished, standing and leaving the room.

Cyrus stood slowly, muttering under his breath, "I don't know what has gotten into her."

Spencer looked at him sarcastically. "Cyrus… Oh, never mind. you wouldn't understand. I forget you're anti-love and joy."

"What wouldn't I understand?" Cyrus asked, unamused.

Spencer clasped his hands over his heart. "Why, the feelings of a lady who has been forced apart from her true love for so many years. Those ol' lovebirds finally get to reunite… It's so sweet. I haven't seen her this happy in awhile."

"True love?" Cyrus asked, incredulously.

"Soulmates," Spencer added. "Like I said, Cyrus, you wouldn't understand. Just go pack your bags. You get to go to Unova and meet her right-hand man."

* * *

**AN: **I have nothing to say today about this chapter... ... Other than I love Spencer. Seriously, the best villain OC I've ever come up with. Of course, Cyrus and the lovely Madame are also quite hilarious together. You almost forget they're evil. Almost.

In other news, I used to have some things up for the next arc, Zacre, but that is currently being scrapped and being reworked so it will be awhile before I get that essay finished. But I will say, I was amused when I found out that Pokemon X/Y will be based off France/Europe in general and Zacre (which I was working on last summer) is based off Italy/Europe in general.

Anyhoo, I do believe that the lovely dear, Adyran was mentioned in this chapter and thus, the due credit is given to **Cloud of Swirling Storm! **And Aaron Croatien was a Sinnoh OC that will reoccur later on, but he was also mentioned. Aaron belongs to **RandomGuy520!**

Of course, this chapter would not nearly be the same without my Beta, **DarkAngelTorchic!**

**Thank you, you lovely people, for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Narrow Street of Castelia was always a haven for disgruntled mutterings, but tonight it seemed a very popular place for the displeased. The only difference tonight was that the people doing the complaining weren't the two punks, but a group of police officers.

"I can't believe we're on stakeout duty… We're the best squad around and they've got us watching this stupid building… We should be out working the case!" Harry exclaimed over his bowl of ramen crossly, his lanky body sprawled over the shoddy couch they kept in the room right across from the building in question.

Mark, a large, brawny, black man sighed with irritation. "Harry, I swear…"

"Boys! Knock it off!" Janice interrupted impatiently. "Look, we're here because we're the best in all of Unova and we let a wanted criminal slip through our fingers! We should have had him!"

"That's no reason to give us the shit job... Just because you're a disappointment to daddy police commissioner doesn't mean the rest of us should suffer," Harry muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, Mark heard him and proceeded kick him less than kindly, drawing a yelp.

"Thank you, Mark," Janice said stiffly, the scowl holding on her face.

"You're welcome," he answered coolly.

"You guys are both assholes," Harry whined.

Janice's scowl deepened and Mark rolled his eyes. "And you're a pain in the ass."

"H-"

"Shh! Quiet, someone's coming!" Janice interrupted quickly, peering through the window of their ground floor room. From somewhere down the street, high heels hit the pavement with crisp clacks. Eventually, a woman dressed in a silver cocktail dress came into view, her long dark purple hair running down past her waist in choppy layers.

Harry stood up and walked to the window to look and then snorted and walked away. "You guys are dumb. We've been watching this place and these parties forever and no matter what, we've never gotten enough evidence to prove that anything is wrong. And it's not likely to change now."

"It might…" Janice growled, still watching as the woman on the street suddenly looked up and smiled flirtatiously.

"Hello…" she said.

Janice and Mark almost jumped out of their skins as the person she was talking to walked right past the partially open window. He was dressed simply but formally, like the woman in the street.

"Hey… What's a pretty girl like yourself doing out here all alone?" he asked, standing beside her, his hands in the pockets of his black slacks.

She smiled, her glossy purple lips catching the light from the street lamps. "I'm guessing the same thing you are."

He chuckled and smiled. "That's not what I meant; surely a beautiful girl like yourself isn't going _single_?"

She giggled. "Oh, I see. Well, I would be delighted if you were to accompany me," she said, wrapping her hands around his arm.

Once they had walked down the narrow alley between the buildings to get to the door in question that they were out of earshot, Janice turned to Mark. "Who was the girl? Do we know her? Is she in the system?"

Mark pulled up the laptop and typed up the description to match to the keywords in the file. The woman's picture came up, her radiant purple eyes bold on the screen. Mark shifted through the painfully brief description at the bottom. "We don't really know a thing. No criminal activity that we know of. She's been seen attending these for a long time."

"That's all we've got on her? Damn it… What about the guy?"

"Didn't see his face. Can't tell anything," Mark stated simply, not even bothering to try.

"So… Nothing," Janice said, slumping in her chair. "For all the power we've got, these criminals are too damn smart."

* * *

"Those cops… Aren't very smart," Sam remarked to his attractive companion, his arm around her small waist as they walked through the entrance hall

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh. They sit there every time. It's pathetic, really… By the way," she started, tugging him to a stop in the hall. "I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

"I'm new… My name is Sam," he answered, looking down at her with a charming smile.

"Sam… I'm Vera," she introduced, purposefully neglecting to tell him her last name. "And once we go through those doors I'll have to leave you since I have a date already arranged for me, but afterwards I'd like to talk to you more…"

"I certainly don't have anything arranged," Sam answered easily.

"Great because I'd like to get to know you a little better… Come find me later, or I'll find you," Vera told him, tapping a finger on his chest of emphasis on the last few words.

"Of course," he replied innocently. She smiled and walked towards the door, opening it for him before disappearing inside. Sam followed after her, giving her room to leave though since there was another man involved somewhere. Inside, Sam did a quick headcount to figure how many friends he potentially had.

_Over 40… That's not a bad total for a city in the midst of a police state. I was expecting far worse._ He stood back where he was, observing who was there and judging the talent. It was fairly obvious who the assassins were and the conmen like him were always easily distinguished. It was often harder to see through the blurred line between general thieves and the hackers.

Sam weaved through the people smoothly, making his way around the wall to any other person he could speak to; a very delicate task as this person had to be agreeable to some extent because they would be Sam's almost constant company for a while as he tried to find a way out of Unova. As he neared a dull, very quiet and secluded corner, he saw that one individual with bubblegum pink hair sitting at an otherwise empty table with his pink laptop.

The young man didn't seem to realize that Sam was nearby. As he walked past, Sam glanced at the screen casually. He didn't understand any part of hacking even after years of being friends with Matt; he just looked out of curiosity. He started to continue walking past him, then stopped and turned around again for a double take.

_No way…_

Sam stood behind the man and stared at the screen that was showing the list of criminals in the area… Straight from the Police Headquarters' database. "Impressive," Sam commented, not even considering that the man probably had no idea he was there.

And he didn't. He jumped and whirled around; staring at Sam with wide blue eyes and the Porygon that was helping him fell off the table. Sam winced slightly. "I need to stop scaring people like this… My bad, sorry."

The stranger went back staring at his computer screen quietly; a blush coming to his cheeks and the Porygon picked itself off the ground dazedly.

"So, what are you doing with the police records?" Sam asked, reading the list of names and glancing at the pictures beside them.

"I w-w… I was h-hired to e-erase s-some criminal… profiles… …" he answered trailing off.

"Can you tell if someone is entered into their system?" Sam asked curiously. _I wonder if they have my picture on here… It better be a good one if they do._

"Yea…"

"Awesome because I need to know how much they know. My name's Sam, by the way," he said, introducing himself finally and offering his hand for a handshake.

The man ignored him and started typing keywords into the search system of the database, "'M Adyran…" he muttered quietly, his cheeks reddening further. After watching the small hourglass load the results, the screen came up with several results. Adyran skimmed though the quickly. "Y-you're only l-l-listed in d-description."

"What? Does that mean they don't really know what I look like?" Sam asked. _That would be nice._

Adyran nodded. Sam grinned. "Sweet. Actually, could you take the 'facial scars' off the description of me?"

With a few clicks of his mouse and a quick string of taps as he typed, the edit was done. Adyran looked at him shyly and seemed to be waiting very uncomfortably for Sam to leave.

"Excellent… So what brings you here? What was it, work?" Adyran nodded quietly. "Then I'll stop bothering you. Thanks for the help," Sam said as he left a very flustered Adyran alone.

While Adyran was probably the most oddly dressed of all the guests in his pink ampharos sweater; there were two other characters that stood out like sore thumbs. In a crowd of at least semi-formally dressed people, were two young girls dressed in street clothes. _Rebellious kids, I suppose. But what are they doing here with all these professionals?_

Curious, he picked his way through people. As he approached, one of the girls wearing clearly expensive name-brand clothes looked up from fiddling with her silver Claddagh ring. "Hey. You're the first person I've met here who isn't too fancy to talk to me," she said to him with the typical sassy attitude of a teenager.

Sam grinned. "Thank Arceus for that. I don't know if I could stand myself if I was as stuck up as some of these people," he joked. The other girl turned and stared at him after the other had spoken. "You're the youngest I've seen here… You seem a little out of place."

"We're thieves. This is where the criminals meet up," the other girl answered.

"Ah… Must be very successful to be here with all these other professionals," Sam observed with a very subtle smirk.

The first girl shrugged. "We steal all the time… I'm good at it and I like stealing. Makes me feel like I earned it."

Sam nodded slowly, giving her a curious look. "Really?"

"Ignore her," the other girl told him seriously.

"Oh, you know what I mean," she defended with a huff and catching sight of her silver ring. She held it up in his face. "First thing I stole. 100 percent pure silver. I steal nothing less," she told him smugly.

"I feel like you're trying to brag… And it's not working," Sam remarked.

"I've stolen-"

"Enough, Brinkin Park, he doesn't need you to talk his ear off," the other girl interrupted with an eye roll. "I'm Becca, by the way. This is Brynna."

"Sam," he returned simply to the two.

Brynna flipper her coppery hair out of her face and immediately pounced on a waiter walking past. "Ooh! Pretzels! Come back here!"

Sam looked at Becca, seeing the girl grimace. "I can't believe they let her through the doors," he commented dryly.

"I'm pretty sure they don't want to, but Brynna has some special connections so they put up with us."

"What kind of special connections?" Sam asked, staring at the interesting (if nothing else) teenage girl who seemed to be overdosing on sugar.

"She comes from a really rich family. Her dad works at the Battle Company making TM's that she shares with the dude who runs this place," Becca explained, her green-blue eyes expressionless as Brynna returned with a victorious handful of pretzels.

"Wanna pretzel?" she offered between a mouthful of the food to Sam and Becca when she came back.

"I think I'll pass… Actually, would you two have any idea how to… Gain an audience with Peter Luther?" Sam asked, noticing when he came in that the upper floors were guarded.

Becca shrugged, but Brynna started to rattle off a highly dramatic tale of how she would beat up the guards and run up the stairs.

"Sam?" At his name, Sam turned around to see Vera, the woman from earlier, standing beside him. "I need to talk to you…"

"What? But he's totally our friend right now!" Brynna protested. Becca sighed heavily.

Sam looked back to Vera. "I'm all yours. What do you need?"

"Well, let's get away from your friends first," Vera said with a look at Brynna. Sam waved a goodbye to the girls and followed Vera as she walked towards the stairs.

"I wasn't aware that we were allowed up to the next floors," Sam observed as the people started parting for Vera and the guards stood aside for her.

"Normal people aren't…" she answered with a smile at him, walking up the stairs with quick and efficient strides, seeming to be in a hurry.

"Well, I'm flattered to know that you think I'm weird," Sam continuing the banter.

Vera looked back at him with a smirk. "Oh, you're very, very weird… Now come on, Mr. Luther is very excited to meet you."

She guided him down a hall to a set of French doors that opened for them, all the while wondering what he had done to get Peter Luther's interest already. _Who knew it would be this easy… Well, I like being pleasantly surprised._

He stepped into the richly decorated office behind Vera quietly. She stepped aside and presented him rather professionally. "Mr. Luther, this is the man I was telling you about; Sam."

The old man dressed in a charcoal suit looked up at him pleasantly, his small mouth breaking into a wide grin. "Hello, boy… Come, come. Sit." He gestured at the identical couch in front of the one he was sitting on. Sam obliged, sitting directly in front of Peter Luther, musing on how long it had been since someone had referred to him as 'boy'. Only Drake still did that.

"You know, I was trying to figure out a way to contact you myself before you called me up here," Sam remarked with his typical pleasant smile.

"Ah… Yes, then… Did Annette send you here?" he asked, giving him that same evaluating look that Annette had given him when they first met.

"She did," he answered.

"I heard that… You have quite the life overseas," Peter remarked. _Quite the… What? _Then Sam caught sight of the silver ring that Peter was turning around his finger, a ring that had five gems with the word 'Guild' spelled across them. Sam's eyes widened as he saw the old Guild ring that was a known hallmark of superior achievement. It was as close to a medal as the Guild gave out, though they hadn't in the last four hundred years.

Seeing Sam's reaction, Peter smiled. "So you really are with the Guild… I don't question Annette's judgment, but I wanted to be sure myself."

Vera's purple eyes widened. "He's from the Guild?! I thought… You didn't tell me that," she said, disbelievingly as she moved from standing off to the side to get a better look at Sam, as if his appearance should have given it away.

"It's fine… The Guild isn't exactly something that normal people should know about. I'm glad you're protecting the secret," Sam offered with a shrug, looking from Vera to Peter.

"So… What brings you to Unova?" Peter asked.

Sam grimaced. "It's complicated… But let's cut to the chase; I need to go back. Hate to leave you and all, but I'm needed elsewhere."

"Of course," Peter answered diplomatically. "I assume that when you were dropped off, a plan was in place?"

Sam paused. "Well… No. Not really. Some pretty crazy stuff came up and it was very short notice. The plan was for me to contact them. I need a secure line to do that."

Peter tapped a gnarled finger to his lips as he thought it over. "I'm afraid… Arranging that will take time. The police monitor almost every call and who you are calling and the however much of the location as can be traced is listed… An out-of-region call would go up like a red flag."

"But it _is _possible?" Sam asked hopefully.

"It is. But there are only two phones in this whole region that can do it and we only know where one is," Vera answered for Peter, sitting beside Sam comfortably.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Why just one?"

"A few decades ago, there were two young lovers in this city. Criminals of the highest caliber; they were terrors… … In order to contact each other without the police knowing, they built two cell phones that wouldn't even register on the Police log. Five years ago, one of them must have lost theirs. It's passed around now; we just have to find out who has it at the moment," Peter Luther explained solemnly.

"Well… It's a start. I also need this ID changed to have my name and face on it. I was told you could arrange that for me as well?" Sam said questioningly, pulling out the card.

Vera took it from his hands and nodded. "We can get that done for you easily- tonight even."

"That's pretty fast," Sam commented with raised eyebrows.

"For you, anything can be done quickly," Vera answered with a smirk.

"So, how much did Annette tell you about Unova?" Peter asked, still playing with the Guild ring on his finger.

"Not much. I know that I'll need that card soon, that I should always dress in a veteran trainer's uniform to keep the police off my back, that the police are crazy, and that you guys really look up to the Guild," Sam answered with a small shrug.

"Well… To start off, I would be considered the leader of the Guild here, though we are not near so organized. Vera is my second in command and will someday take my place," Peter explained with a gesture at the pretty young woman beside Sam. "We keep selected members together and help them find contacts or whatever they need in an effort to stay alive. Sadly, it gets progressively harder as the years go by. Someday, the police will probably win out, but for now, we get by."

"Our reach only extends so far. So while we will do anything to help you, if you end up getting arrested, you're on your own," Vera warned.

"I'd like to not go to prison. That has always been my goal," Sam observed dryly.

"It's a good one to have," Vera said with an eye roll.

"It would be best to take this a little more seriously," Peter interrupted patiently. "This is no joking matter."

"Of course… Sorry," Sam said, sobering up a little since Peter clearly did not appreciate his sense of humor. "So besides the obvious police, what else should I watch out for?"

"Have you heard of Team Plasma?" Peter asked, his face dark.

_Oh… Great. Here we go_. "Yep… Pokémon fanatics. Their rep is that green haired what's-his-face… Yeah. I've met them. I'm guessing that I'm not supposed to like them," Sam answered with a heavy sigh.

Vera shook her head. "We fell for it at first too, but we discovered otherwise a few months ago."

"As it turns out," Peter began, taking over for Vera, "they are just trying to take the region. We don't know who the leader is, but he is not who he appears to be. We've had reports of these people, claiming to be freeing abused pokémon, _stealing _from children. It's truly deplorable…"

Sam froze and his eyes widened. "They're doing what?"

Vera scowled. "It's disgusting, isn't it? They ripped a purrloin right out of one little girl's hands."

Sam's face went from shock to clearly very angry. "How long has that been going on?" he demanded.

Vera was so surprised at the sudden change that she couldn't answer him, so Peter did. "A few months. And it has gotten worse. They have plenty of funding from some pretty rich individuals. We have targeted them for robbery, but they're too powerful to kill. We've made it a point to stand in Team Plasma's way as much as possible, but, again, our powers are limited."

Sam stood up, feeling the need to pace, which was common for him any time things like this were brought up. "How many pokémon have been stolen? Who do they send to do this?"

"The grunts do all the stealing… And they report to an office building across the street from the Gym. It's hard to keep up with them, but we do what we can," Vera answered.

"Perhaps, though, it would be best for you to not get involved. It will be dangerous for you," Peter offered gently.

Sam looked at him immediately. "I don't see how I can't help. You said it would take time to arrange the phone call for me and it will take them awhile to get here; until then, I will help you throw them off."

Peter smiled. "I expected nothing less of Guild member… Now, we've been racking our brains trying to find a way to get rid of them without getting caught. Any thoughts?"

"With the police around, killing them is out… And I really don't want to anyway. I get the sense that all those knights are just horribly misguided and disillusioned," Sam observed.

"Then you and I are on the same wave of thought. Killing them would draw too much attention. But what we are doing now is not enough," Peter said, stroking his ring.

Sam stared out the window, pausing briefly in stride. "No… It wouldn't be. We need to expose them to the public and prove to the grunts that they are in the wrong… …"

"But 'how' is the question," Vera stated grimly.

Sam shook his head slowly, his eyes narrowing as he searched for a suitable answer. "I don't know… I need more time."

"Take as long as you need. Any ideas are welcome," Peter offered diplomatically. "I didn't expect an idea straight away, just your help. Anything you can do would be much appreciated."

Peter stood up shakily and offered his hand for a handshake. Sam returned the gesture and Peter clasped both hands over his. "Thank you for coming to me and I hope that you stay safe."

Sam nodded simply in response. Peter turned to Vera. "Get the ID card done tonight."

"Of course, Mr. Luther," she answered standing up and gesturing for Sam to come to her side.

"Good night to both of you," the wizened man said with a parting nod as they left.

Once the door closed behind them, Vera sighed heavily. "Well… He's a real gem," Sam commented sarcastically.

"What, you don't like him?" Vera asked with an amused smirk.

"No… He's too… Stiff. And he doesn't appreciate my humor," Sam answered, wrinkling his nose with distaste.

Vera rolled her eyes and giggled as she nudged him. "Oh, lack-a-day! Now come on."

Sam obediently followed her as she walked down the hall and into a room with several computers and a white tarp as well as couch. The room extended into others and Sam realized that they were in some sort of office and judging by how comfortable Vera was with the environment, it was probably her's.

She picked up a camera. "I'm going to need a picture of you, pretty boy. Stand over there, please."

Sam followed her gaze to the white tarp hanging down the wall and stood in front of it. "Should I try to look nice?" he asked teasingly.

"No. They're pretty much supposed to be terrible pictures. You don't really have to smile either," she answered, readying the camera.

"Alright then. Let's get this over with."

She held up the camera and steadied it. "Oh… Stand right there, that's perfect."

Sam held still like she asked and the bright light flashed as the picture was taken. He blinked repeatedly, almost blinded. "Arceus, you might as well have the sun on that thing."

"Oh, hush." Vera hooked the camera to the desktop computer and pulled up the scanned in image of the card with Varric's name and face on it. Sam eventually walked over and sat on the desk beside her, watching as she exchanged Varric's face for his.

"You know, you and Varric actually look a _little_ similar. Do all the Guild operatives look the same?" she asked teasingly.

"Oh yes. We're all clones. Can't tell one from the other." Vera gave him a look and he shrugged. "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."

Vera rolled her eyes, but still laughed. "You're hilarious. Oh… I need your name."

"Name? You already know that. Sam."

"I need your first name, middle name if you have one, and last name," she prompted with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, 'Sam' is all I can tell you," he answered simply.

Vera rolled her eyes. "Do you really have to be difficult? Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because I don't know either."

She paused. "What? How can you _not _know?"

"I was abandoned when I was very young. No birth certificate, all they know and all I know is that my name is Sam," he answered with the story easily.

"But when you were adopted-"

"Never officially adopted either. It's just a blank. You're welcome to fill it in with whatever you want though."

Vera pursed her purple lips together quietly with an expression of guilt on her face. "I'm sorry…"

"Ah, don't worry about it. It really doesn't bother me," he said dismissively. It was true… Most days.

"Well… You get to be Samuel Reagan then, since it was Varric's last name," she stated as she typed in the completed name.

"Not too shabby. I approve," Sam said, looking at the screen.

"It'll take a little while to print…" Vera started, leaning back in her chair.

Sam shrugged. "So shall we rejoin the party downstairs?"

"No," she answered automatically, standing up and moving to stand in front of him, a hand on either knee.

Sam grinned. "I thought not. But what happened to just talking to me _after_ your date?"

Vera leaned forward and moved her hands up from his knees to his chest. "I lied about the date and I changed my mind about talking… I've learned enough about you, I think," she said, kissing his lips gently.

He smirked, pulling her closer to him as he leaned forward and spoke softly almost in her ear, "You don't know a damn thing about me."

Vera giggled, leaning even close against him. "No… But I've decided I like the dark, mysterious dangerous aura you've got… It works for you," she answered, tracing the scar that ran down the side of his face, her purple eyes staring into his with a lascivious glimmer, before kissing him full on again.

The printer, which had been working tediously on the ID card, suddenly spit out its masterpiece loudly, drawing their attention away from each other to look at it. Vera pulled away from him and retrieved it. She came back and stood in front of him, holding the small plastic card between her hands so he could see it.

"And there you are, Mr. Reagan… So, do you want this now or would you rather have me?" she asked, a shaped eyebrow raised and her long dark purple hair slightly covering her face.

Sam looked from the card to her face. He smiled as he stood up and took the card from her, kissing her on the neck as he did so. "Good night, Vera."

She looked genuinely surprised and she latched on to him. "You can't be serious…"

"I'm expected back home… I don't want Annette to worry and you probably have work to do… But next time," he offered, shrugging her off easily.

Vera scowled, used to getting her way most of the time. "I don't appreciate you playing hard-to-get."

Sam grinned and left her. He waved at Brynna and Becca as he walked through the main floor, having caught sight of them, before walking out into the street. He pulled out the ID card, looking from his face to the name tagged beside it.

_Reagan… _Normally, he wasn't affected by his own blank past. So, maybe he didn't know who his parents were… So what if he didn't know his own last name? Or when his birthday was? What difference did it make? When he was younger, sure, he wanted to know. Time went by and he stopped caring: almost never giving any thought to the parents who probably never once thought of him. For whatever reason, it was really bothering him right now.

But that was the least of his worries. Team Plasma was his new enemy and he needed to find a way to defeat them without getting himself arrested or hurting them.

* * *

**AN:** Piece by piece, the story starts coming together... ... And we meet the ever lovely Vera! Of course, there was Peter as well (but he's not as much fun)... AND Sam is now on Team Plasma's trail! I know a lot of you have probably been anticipating this moment as it was obviously going to happen. Though, be warned that while GSTA may seem predictable, Unova took on a life of its own and became something even I didn't see coming. ... So enjoy!

THREE OC's appeared in this chapter:

**Becca **and **Brynna **belong to **ViridianPhoenix**! As charming as they were, this is their first and last appearance... But VP, in a way, co-wrote the scene between Sam and Brynna.

**Adyran** belongs to **Cloud of Swirling Storm**! I'm biased. I know, really, I do... I just don't care.

Also, as you probably saw coming, a tip of the hat to my ever-wonderful beta and friend, **DarkAngelTorchic!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

How do you stop a whole group of misguided fanatics without hurting them?

Morning found Sam sitting on the rooftop patio of Annette's condo wondering the same question that had been plaguing his mind since it was prompted and almost giving him insomnia. Cat pranced around, irritating Diana and Patch greatly and knocking Hercules over so often that he simply quit trying to get back up and laid on the floor.

"Can't kill them… Wouldn't have enough manpower for that anyway, even without the police to think about," he mused aloud, looking at Michael as he spoke for whatever reason. Sam sighed heavily. "They're just like Team Magma and Aqua... And ignoring them proved to be a terrible mistake. Can't leave them, can't do anything to psychically stop them."

In his rambling he didn't realize that Annette had joined him until she laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Goodness, how long have you been up?"

"A while… I was never much of a person to sleep in. Why are you up?" he asked in return as she sat in the chair nearby.

"I usually get up around this time. So how's the Plasma problem coming along? Any new ideas?"

Sam grimaced. "Not a single worthwhile thought. I've got absolutely nothing. It's sad, really. I should be able to come up with an answer quicker than this."

"Maybe you're over-thinking it? Try thinking of something else for a while, maybe it will come to you," she suggested.

Sam sighed. "I wish I could _not_ think about it, but I can't. Too hard, I've tried."

"Well… Then perhaps do something else. There's a park in the middle of town, you could take your crew with you and train them. I'm sure they'd love to stretch and play," she tried.

Sam stared at her. "Are you saying that because you actually think it will help or because you're trying to get rid of them?"

Annette paused and then chuckled. "Both… Let's be fair, they could use the time out."

Sam nudged Patch with his foot. "See? You just cause so much trouble."

The over-protective audino stared at him blankly with his single eye before Cat tripped over him, knocking over a nearby flowerpot. Sam picked her up and set the plant back up carefully. "Okay, yes, I will take them somewhere else…"

"Thank you… They can't help that they have so much energy, I'm sorry to put this on you," Annette offered sympathetically.

"No, it's fine. I understand," Sam returned, recalling most of them except Patch and Michael to their pokéballs since they were the only two who could be trusted. "Where did you suggest again?"

"The park. You can reach it through the sewers or there is another way," Annette said thoughtfully.

"A way that does not involve sewers? I'm all for it."

Annette giggled. "Of course, I'll show you the map. Come with me."

Sam followed her into the kitchen and she set a map of the town on the table. "We're-"

"Right here," Sam finished for her, pointing at the condo overlooking Mode Street.

"Yes. The park is here," she said, pointing to a square shaped blank in the map.

"So… I need to go down Castlelia Street?" he inferred.

Annette shrugged. "You can. Or you can just go to the Central Area where you can get past the buildings there easier, but you'll have to make sure no one is watching you."

"No problem. Or it shouldn't be in my little guise as a veteran trainer, right?"

"The police shouldn't be too worried, no. There are quite a few veterans around so it's not like you stick out at all. Except for the scars… They… Mark you," she said carefully with a pointed stare at the two prominent scars on his face.

Sam grimaced and impulsively touched the one on his cheekbone, under his left eye. "Yeah… I suppose looking into a way to cover them up wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"I didn't know if you'd be opposed to… makeup at all."

Sam looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Well… Let's not make a habit of it. I'm not particularly fond of the idea."

"Of course… But for today, I wouldn't worry about it," she added quickly.

"Good. Then I'll take these little monsters out of your hair for awhile," Sam said as he started walking towards the stairs.

"Come back for lunch!" she ordered.

"Yes, of course, _mom_," Sam answered teasingly with a heavy sigh.

* * *

Castelia City was and almost always had been a whirling mass of people and steel. Mode Street especially was the hub for business men and women and the constant flow of human traffic defied the laws of politeness. Most people were plowed into, knocked around, and pushed, but there was one entity that could walk down that street unscathed, and that was a veteran trainer. A highly regarded and respected trainer, anyone wearing that powerful uniform had the right of way.

Sam put his hands in the deep pockets of the charcoal trench coat, relatively comfortable in the less than usual attire, for him anyway. Despite the fact that he'd prefer a fedora hat, the one he had worked as well. His biggest bone was with the shoes that were clearly not meant for athletic feats.

As he walked, Sam realized that he was being closely followed. He turned around immediately and saw none other than N, again.

The boy looked surprised by the look Sam was giving him. "What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I'm… This street is so crowded and they… Won't run into you," N answered, grimacing slightly.

"So… You're using me as cover?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… It's logical."

"It's kinda creepy, buddy," Sam returned.

N paused and Sam shook his head. "Whatever. Just don't make a habit of it," he growled, knowing that N was in with Team Plasma's boat. Then it dawned on him that N had the potential to be useful to him.

"So… How's Ghetsis? He didn't look so hot when I saw him in Striaton City," Sam commented casually.

"He's… Wait, how do you know about Ghetsis?"

"We've met several times before, but don't mention it out loud unless you want to get us both in trouble," Sam answered, walking into to the safety of Central Area.

"Oh! … I thought that the chances of meeting you again to be quite a low ratio… Team Plasma has begun working tediously to further our aims. I hope that the ideal world I hope for can come to reality soon… So that my friends can be happy," N rambled off.

"Hmm…" _Bullshit…_ "So what does that include exactly?"

"We must take mistreated pokémon from negligent trainers. My friends can't be happy as they are- they need to be freed."

Sam nodded slowly, eyeing the horribly misguided boy. "And what if I told you that they are taking pokémon from little kids?"

"Children should not be messing with pokémon. They pull on ears, tails, and fur… It is best that if they don't treat their pokémon with respect that they not have them," N answered.

Sam had to exercise quite a bit of self-control to keep a pleasant tone and not strangle this kid on the spot. "I see… So what is Team Plasma planning exactly? I mean, what _is _this ideal world?"

"It is a world for pokémon and pokémon alone. Pokémon should be separated from people to regain their old power," N stated confidently, believing fully in the nonsense he was spouting.

"And how are you going to do that?"

"With the power of Zekrom, the dragon of ideals. With its power, I will be able to accomplish this."

Sam narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "So you get this Zekrom dragon and immediately the whole region is just going to bow to you?"

"It is a very powerful dragon. It can and almost did destroy the region once!" N defended.

Sam shrugged. "Alright then… I'll see you around, kid," he said as he left, walking away into the maze-like city to get to the park where he could release his pokémon to tear around somewhere that wasn't going to break Annette's house.

As he walked down the sidewalk that ran parallel to Castelia Street, according to the map Annette had shown him, Sam mused over the new information. _So… The whole region is scared of supernatural power? And Team Plasma puts a lot of stock in the power of pokémon… … How does that help me?_

He discovered the park pretty easily. It was very sheltered between several buildings with wild grass in a pokéball shape around a tree. _Why is everything always pokéball shaped?_

Regardless, he released Patch, Hercules, Diana, Sarhan, and Cat. Michael had been following him (invisibly) all the way out, so there was no need to release him. The resident veteran trainer nodded at his brother in title, not asking about the abra (which was nice) or the odd arrangement of pokémon Sam had at his disposal.

As the troop dispersed with boundless energy, Sam took a seat by the blue safety rail playing the lazy part of supervisor. Cat promptly tugged on Michael's tail and said something to him that resulted in brief assembly of the pokémon.

At a wave of Michael's tail they all dispersed energetically, terrorizing the wild pokémon and battling. Sam ignored them. If Michael wanted to play trainer, that was perfectly fine with him; it wasn't like he had any plans of training them.

He eventually dozed off partially, though still perfectly aware of his surroundings. There were a few occasional yelps and a jostle here and there when they'd run past, at one point running hot laps to burn off energy. At the sound of high heels, he woke up fully and glanced around for the source. Vera walked around the corner with a coquettish wave.

"Hey," she greeted with a small smile.

"Hey… What are you doing here?" he asked as she sat down beside him.

"Oh, you know… I heard some horsing around and had to check it out. Are all these pokémon yours, veteran trainer Samuel Reagan?" she asked with a pointed look at the small pokémon running around and extra emphasis on the long title and fake name.

Sam chuckled. "Ah, sadly they are. Quite the group, aren't they?"

"They're cute… If not extremely energetic."

"I would use the word 'psychotic'," Sam returned, watching Sarhan fuss over a flower he accidentally stepped on. It was understandable though since Sarhan was an inside pokémon and he got in trouble with Annette when he hurt her flowers.

The rest had no excuse. Hercules was trying (and failing) to climb the tree to escape a curious and harmless bug pokémon, Diana was going hulk on an unfortunate skitty that made the mistake of ruffling her fur, and Cat was trying to lead a small legion of wild pokémon into a game of tag.

"So…" she started, embracing him, "You were a little cold last night… Feeling better today?"

Sam shrugged. "Not too bad," he answered before kissing her and wrapping an arm around her. "And how are you?"

She grinned at him, her lips covered in the same glossy purple lipstick as last night. "I'm great… Are you doing anything today? Any curfew?" she asked, cuddling even closer to him.

"I have to be back for lunch… Or Annette will be upset. But other than that, I'm all yours," he replied with a smirk and giving her another quick kiss.

"Mmm… Good. I might just tag along with you all day," Vera said resting her chin on his chest. "Just to make sure you don't escape again."

"Oh, parish the thought."

"I wouldn't be so forgiving a second time," she stated with a grin. "Speaking of being unforgiving, you do know that it is illegal and very much punishable to be carrying more than six pokéballs at once, right?"

Sam gave her a strange look. "Seven? I only have six."

Vera returned the look. "No… I'm pretty sure you've got two in your pocket and five in your belt."

_Michael, Cat, Hercules, Diana, Sarhan, Patch… That's six._ He checked though, knowing that Cat and Michael's pokéballs were in his pocket. The other four for his current team were clipped in the first four slots of his belt, as he thought. "Vera… There's six."

Without a word, she reached behind him and pulled out one from the last slot of his belt. "Seven."

Sam took it from her hands and looked at it. "Huh… I don't remember. Oh! Wait, yes I do. This is Zora's pokéball… I forgot about her."

"What is Zora?" Vera asked, curious.

"My rapidash," he answered thoughtfully. "She's probably pissed. I haven't let her out in awhile…"

Vera remained sitting as he stood up to release the pokémon. "A rapidash? What is that?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't know what a rapidash is?" Vera shook her head. "I guess you don't have them here. That's almost sad."

Without another thought about how Zora was a large, muscular, most-likely angry fire pokémon, he released her.

Zora shook her fiery silver mane and reared up on her hind legs, slamming her full weight on the ground in front of Sam with a loud snort- a pretty good sign that he was right about her being pissed.

Vera threw herself backwards, away from the fiery beast with a sharp gasp. "HOLY SHIT! What is that thing!?"

Sam flinched when she yelled and now stood staring at her blankly. "Vera… It's a rapidash. We discussed this," he said as Zora grunted and whinnied at him with irritation and started nosing him roughly.

Vera put a shaking hand through her hair and scooted even further away as Sam kept getting pushed backwards by Zora. "Hey… Stop that. Zora, I'm sorry…."

Without remorse, Zora kept nosing him until he was back against the blue safety rail that surrounded the park.

"Zora… Come on," Sam tried again with the still less than forgiving rapidash. She nosed him again and he was already leaning over the rail. She paused for a minute with a very uncaring and superior expression before pushing him roughly one more time so he fell.

Vera stood up and eyed the angry, snorting, and obviously intelligent pokémon warily. Sam sighed heavily as he sat up and looked up at the glaring rapidash. "I'm sorry, alright? You're a far cry from a house pet. I can't just let you out to go tearing around!"

Zora narrowed her eyes and lowered her horned head so it was level with his face and snorted again.

"I'm not calling you fat, I swear," Sam replied dryly, getting an even more intense glare from the horse. "Okay… I promise that I will let you out more often… At least once a week."

Zora's glower didn't waver. "More than once a week… Every other day? Every day… Dammit, Zora! Really? …. Fine. _Twice _a day," Sam said with a heavy sigh.

Zora's face returned to its natural, haughty expression and she raised her head with a smug whiney. Sam muttered under his breath at the horse and eyed her.

Vera pointed at the big silver rapidash. "That thing… Is it dangerous?"

"Zora? Nah… Just really pissy," Sam told her as he slapped Zora in the chest, who responded by almost stepping on his foot. "She's just a rapidash."

Vera shook her head and smoothed her hair out nervously. "More like hell beast," she muttered.

Sam froze. "What?"

Vera looked up at him with surprise. "What?"

He walked up closer to her with a curious expression on his face. "No, what did you just call her- repeat that."

Vera shrugged; Sam had an odd look on his face and a tiny smile… Almost like he was on to something. "Uh… Hell beast. The fire and… Hell, I don't know! She's kinda scary looking if you ask me!"

Sam repeated it to himself for a few times, eyeing Zora before his eyes brightened and he smiled triumphantly. "That's it! I'm a genius! I just need the right props…"

"What? Have you lost your mind? What are you-"

"Vera! Is Peter home? I need to talk to him!" he asked excitedly, offering no explanation.

"Yeah…?"

"Great! Okay, take me to him!" he ordered, turning her around and giving her a slight push to get her going before stopping suddenly as Cat ran past, "But not without you guys."

* * *

Alone in his richly furbished office, Peter Luther poured over the reports concerning Team Plasma grimly.

"So many stolen… So much damage… And I'm powerless," he muttered to himself. The light of his desk lamp caught the jewels of his ring, drawing his attention to it. His face, old, worn, and weary reflected off the polished gems that hid the word 'Guild'. Looking at it, another face showed up, the face of Varric; polished, hardened, and kind.

"What would you have done? You were always so quick…" With a heavy sigh, he looked away and towards the window that opened to the city outside: his home. Peter sighed again as he stood up to look out them and his thoughts drifted to the only other Guild thief to have ever stepped foot in Castelia.

At the sound of someone coming down the hall to his office he started to turn around in time to see the French doors burst open to reveal the very same person he'd been just thinking of and a very confused Vera behind him.

"Sam?"

Sam smiled at him winningly. "Mr. Peter Luther… I need your very best tailor."

* * *

People still roamed the streets of Castelia that night, talking of the challenger named Hilda who had taken the city by storm after standing up to Team Plasma and retrieving a stolen pokémon. The city was standard above. Beneath those paved streets lit by streetlights, darkness reigned. Burgh walked through a dimly lit hall gesturing at the horrid run-down place with disgust.

"He lives here," he told his companion, "I don't know why, but he insists."

Wordlessly, the veteran trainer following him nodded. They arrived at door labeled 323. "Might not look like much, but I can vouch that there's no one better in the city. Just watch yourself, my brother tends to get into some pretty bad business," Burgh explained.

"Thank you for the advice and the help," the trainer said simply. Burgh nodded and left quietly after unlocking the door. Sam opened the door and stepped inside the strangely lit apartment.

He knocked on the doorpost, though Burgh had done that already. The squeaking of wheels reached his ears and soon the source and the man came into view.

"Reed?"

The lanky, hollow-cheeked man seated loosely in his wheelchair raised his head. "I am."

"I find myself in need of a very, _very_ skilled tailor who won't talk to law enforcement… I hear that you're just what I need."

Reed smiled just a little bit. "Come this way… Let's discuss business."

Sam followed him into a large room lined with fabrics and various materials, including what looked like a prototype of the Plasma uniform. Reed set his chair at a desk that catered to him and pulled out a notebook. "Let's talk- what are you looking for?"

"A suit…"

"Of what? Body suit? Suit of armor?" Reed asked, clarifying.

Sam shook his head as he sat down in a chair meant for clients. "Nope. Just a formal suit."

Reed paused and eyed him. "I assume a special suit then."

Sam grinned. "Oh, it's very special. My goal is to look… Like Hell's personal, professional hit man with all the tricking out you want."

"Hmm… And I suppose you want something to help disguise your face?"

"Short of a mask or a hood, yes."

Reed tapped a pencil to his thin lips and flicked aside a lock of curly hair before attacking the page with furious scribbles, muttering to himself. He asked Sam more questions as they came to his mind.

"What will this be used for?"

"To scare people."

"So it should be frightening?"

"Preferably. Mostly, just very 'other-worldly'."

"Mmmmm…"

"Also… I'll also need you to fashion something for a pokémon of mine- is that possible?" Sam asked, as three pages of scribbles were tossed aside.

"Yes. What does it look like? What is it?"

"It's called a 'rapidash'. I have a picture of it," Sam told him, handing over the picture. Reed paused and nodded.

"That will be easy. When do you need it?"

"Whenever you can get it done works for me," Sam replied with a shrug.

"You will have it in three days… I have several ideas for you," Reed said, taking six pages and taking them to a nearby bulletin board.

Sam inspected them. "They're all very good…" he said with open approval and admiration at the man's handiwork. But one in particular caught his eye. "This one."

Reed nodded and took it down. "I thought so. I'll need your measurements so that it is perfect and a few other details. Sit awhile, please and we'll discuss the cost."

Sam nodded and obeyed. The good news was, money was no longer a concern, not with Annette's gold-lined pockets backing him up. He was already thinking about how it would appear and polishing up how to act it out. This was a con that had the potential to break the spirits of a large portion of the Plasma grunts.

* * *

**AN:** Surprise, surprise, Sam is going to go find trouble. My idea for this came from while watching an episode of Burn Notice and then I was thinking that if I saw a rapidash in real life but didn't know what it was, especially an powerful, angry one, I would probably be jumping conclusions about a nightmare pretty quickly. Plus, Unova seems like a pretty 'God-fearing' region. With dragons like these, who needs enemies?

Any Mc'Who, big shout out to my beta, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

Also, I'm wrapping up the written description of the lovely land of Zacre and will probably be posting that stuff in a week or so...? Maybe? I'm letting OCD run wild with this one so it's hard to say. Anyway:

**Thank you for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Morning had mostly passed, the sun rising red, mimicking the sunset of the last three nights that had set the sailors in a nervous state. All across the region there had been a shared feeling recently- a feeling that something was coming, but whether that something was good or bad had yet to be seen. Events were taking place that came out of nowhere. Unova had always been a place of conflicting elements, but to the average person things had been normal and all this was random. Some even went so far as to say that nothing was happening at all.

Some, a fair few in perspective, knew that something had been happening for a very long time. Like an omniscient angel watching over its charge, the Unovan Police Force had tracked the resurgence of the age-old conflict of truth vs ideals, black vs white, pure vs evil.

Their headquarters stood fast by the Pokémon Center, tall, black and commanding. On the upper level in a large conference room, the epitome of all police officers, barrel-like, strong jaw, hefty mustache, and balding head of silver hair, sat staring at the three police officers sitting before him.

"Mark… Janice… … Harry," he greeted gruffly.

"Sir," the two men answered.

"Father…" Janice returned respectfully.

"I hope you have something worthwhile to report."

"Yessir," Janice answered, the representative of their trio.

He nodded curtly. "Then let's have it. Start with that group of boys we found outside Nuvema."

"Of course, sir. There were seven total, two of them were killed. We determined that they were the Pier Street Gang and that they were hired by someone to hurt, threaten, or kill Sarah Graynor," Janice started.

"Hold on," the commissioner interrupted, "_Someone?_ Who hired them?"

"We don't know yet, sir. We're still looking into that," Mark answered respectfully.

The commissioner grunted and motioned for Janice to continue.

"After studying the crime scene," she began, "I determined that one person took them down. We don't know who or why, but we're somewhat certain that it was a man."

"One man… Took down seven thugs?" he repeated incredulously.

"It sounds crazy, but it's true. They were gathered around a single point. I can show you the photos," she offered grabbing the files.

He held up his hands. "Don't. I trust your judgment… So what makes you think it was a man?"

"Well, sir, we've seen some dude who isn't registered in the system at all running about Unova," Harry said, less than confident.

"Really? Where was he last seen?"

"Here, sir. We're thinking that it might be the same man who stole the dragon skull from the Nacrene Museum," Mark stated.

"… Indeed. I take it that this man is very dangerous?"

"We think so… It might be above us. I think we may want to call in the International Police," Janice replied, taking a deep, nervous breath first.

The commissioner froze for a moment and then nodded slowly. "You're probably right. I'll call them in immediately. It's quite possible that Team Plasma may be too much for us as well… But continue. You did a stakeout recently night, didn't you?"

"Yes sir, watching over that party five nights ago," Mark answered.

"Did anything of particular interest happen?" the commissioner asked, twirling the end of his mustache.

"No sir, not a thing," Harry replied, adding a 'like always' under his breath that wasn't nearly quiet enough.

"Nothing that we could arrest them all for," Janice quickly added, "But I think we're getting closer!"

"We been getting fractions closer for decades… And those criminals just keep getting smarter. We need to do something else… I'm going to ask the International Police for advice when they get here. Perhaps it's time we cleansed these streets," the commissioner said thoughtfully.

"Sir… That's a little extreme, don't you think?"

"No… I'm starting to think that it's not. We'd need permission from the International Police first anyway, but let me worry about that. I trust you have heard of that Hilda girl, yes?"

"Yessir. A trainer, sir, from Nuvema," Janice answered.

"Yes… She beat Burgh and has moved into the desert now."

"Good for her?" Harry remarked.

"If you don't mind our asking, sir, why are you telling us this?" Mark asked, just as confused as Harry, but far more respectful.

"She has ended up in the heart of this Plasma matter. I believe that they are dangerous and she will probably need some protection in this delicate matter. There have been kids in other regions faced with dark forces that shouldn't have been left to them. Hopefully the International Police can also help us with that."

"Oh… Of course. Should we set a detail on her?"

"I think it best… I'll set it up, don't worry about that, Janice. There's also another girl by the name of Bianca. She got her pokémon stolen recently by Team Plasma. It might be beneficial for us to talk to her about how that happened and get a real statement from her. We already talked to Burgh and Iris, but for the sake of completing the record, send someone out to find her."

"Yessir. As soon as possible, sir," Janice replied dutifully.

"Also… We need to talk about Team Plasma. What have they done so far that you've heard?"

"We got a report from every city that a group went through led by a man named Ghetsis to talk to people about pokémon liberation. He stopped when he got to Accumula Town and went back. They reappeared in Nacrene and stole the dragon skull with help from someone... And… They came here?" she finished, unsure.

"Yes. They have a headquarters here that we discovered a few days ago. A man named Ghetsis was indeed there. He seemed to hold a fair amount of power over the grunts. We think he's the leader, but he referenced a 'king'."

"Sir, if you don't mind my saying, he seemed far too smart to be just an underling."

"He called himself a sage, one of seven. But I am thinking the same as you- he holds too much power. Either this so-called king is very weak, or doesn't exist at all."

"Does he match any of our records?" Mark asked.

"Yes…"

"Then we know who he is?"

"… No. He matches the description of a dead, convicted criminal from decades ago," the commissioner answered wearily.

The trio froze. "How can that be?" Janice asked quietly.

"The man's name was Zachary Harmonia, arrested for murdering his brother because he was jealous of his wife and thus adopting the son as well. After a year of living with his brother's family, the son disappeared. We figured out that the uncle, Zachary, murdered the boy too. He committed suicide in prison. This Ghetsis matches the description of the uncle and the boy, but… That was years ago and we thought him dead. It's hard to say what exactly happened or even if we're right. It doesn't help us anyway…" he remarked grimly.

In the silence that followed, Harry found his eyes turning to the muted television airing news over something big. He grabbed the remote and turned it up.

"Harry! What are you doing?" Janice exclaimed.

"Shh!" he returned, staring at the screen.

A reporters face came up, standing on Skyarrow Bridge. "This is Haley Cooper reporting live. Just minutes ago, two Team Plasma grunts stole a truck laden with pokémon! We've determined that they're coming this way!" the reporter exclaimed with zeal.

"Arceus!" Janice breathed.

"How could this happen! Why wasn't it reported!?" the commissioner exclaimed angrily.

Harry shushed them again and pointed at the screen. A pitifully small police squadron already on site had cleared the traffic on the normally busy road so the careening stolen truck was easy to spot.

"Get ready to copy down the license plate!" Janice ordered to Mark quickly.

Harry pointed at the TV. "Guys! Are you seeing what I'm seeing or am I crazy?" They gave the TV a second look and froze.

"What in the hell…?"

* * *

"You sure you know how to drive this thing?" one of the grunts asked nervously.

"Yes! I told you already, I know how to drive!" the other returned impatiently.

The first shrunk down in his seat fearfully, terrified into silence until he saw the bright light and fire gathering in the middle of the road yards before them.

"What the hell is that!?" he cried.

"I don't know!"

"Stop! Stop! STOP!" the cowardly one cried out, stomping on the imaginary brake on his side of the truck.

"We'll just run it over!" he declared nervously, just as terrified as his partner, just less willing to admit it.

* * *

"Are you seeing this?!" the news reporter exclaimed pointing down at the road below.

Appearing from a bright light and a ball of fire, what could only be described as a demonic intervention, appeared. A presumed pokémon with a fiery silver mane and coated with steel plates and horns pawed at the ground and snorted a challenge at the oncoming truck barreling down the highway.

But the real kicker was the rider. Dressed in a black long coat that looked new and old at the same time and blazing with silver flames, red shirt the color of fresh blood, a vest that looked as though it was made of solid metal but perfectly bendable, pitch-black slacks that may have been made by the fabric of shadows, and twisted boots of black leather that came to a sharp point topped with a claw of silver on each boot.

Underneath the strange clothes was unknown. Bony spikes seemed to break from its body, coming through the folds. Several in particular ripped through the forearm like gauntlets. Its hands were covered with leather gloves like that of a butcher. Underneath a hat that's wide brim extended into a fingered wing, there was no face- or not one distinguishable. It was like staring into nothing. Visible and not. A mirror that reflected the hellish reflection of all it looked upon.

The police officers crept closer to the television.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"I don't know."

"It looks like the truck is going to plow into it!" the reporter exclaimed excitedly.

It seemed slow, but maybe it wasn't. The creature raised one hand and clenched it into fist. Almost instantaneously, the road under the truck lurched in, as if compressed by an invisible force. The truck itself was through into the air as the ground underneath exploded literally just yards away from its feet. The truck was thrown over its head rolled several feet. Calmly, the monster, demon, maybe even humanoid pokémon dismounted from the fiery steed and walked over to the truck as the one of the grunts crawled out of it.

"That's a mask, right? That thing… It isn't real, right?" Harry asked with a trembling voice.

"I don't think so…"

Everyone was silent as it approached the fallen knight, giving him a slight kick so he was on his back and then setting a boot on his chest and leaning down. As though it was telepathically voiced, everyone heard, 'Consider this your first warning.'

Without another word, it left the grunt and returned to the saddle and, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared, without a trace of ever existing except for the ruined road and the live footage.

Suddenly, the police decided to make their move, arresting the grunts and freeing the stolen pokémon from the trailer that were a little rattled, but otherwise fine.

In the headquarters, the police commissioner finally found his thoughts again. "Get those grunts here now for interrogation. And I want to know what that thing was! If it was a pokémon, find out what hell it crawled out of! If it's a human, you figure out how they did that. I want answers now!"

Two of the officers scattered with a profuse amount of 'yes sir's. Janice stayed with her father, notably paler.

"What do we do? What was that?" Janice asked.

"I don't know… But we're going to find out. I'm calling the International Police force right now. Send squads out and comb through the city. If it came here, we need to find it. I'm calling a temporary state of emergency. Now go," he commanded.

Outside on the streets squadrons organized and set out cautiously, armed with rifles and guns. Every corner was to be searched, homes inspected as delicately as possible, and the panicked populous shooed off the streets. Behind Janice, Mark and Harry assembled as Squadron Beta, second best.

"We're going to take Mode Street. Keep calm and try not to start a mass panic. Let's go," she ordered, as if they needed to be told.

They took every step cautiously and watched the sky, shadows, and ground like hawks, suspecting everything of harboring whatever creature they had just seen nearly destroy the road.

"I don't see anything," Mark remarked periodically while Harry just muttered and ranted about how crazy it all was and how they were all going to die.

"Janice! That house hasn't been cleared yet!" an officer called out to her.

She approached with her team quickly. "Who lives here?"

"Just a woman named Annette Reagan, a widow. We've got some squads in the apartments but this is condo is… A house, you know," the officer rambled.

With a nod at her team, she strode to the door and knocked on it sharply. "This is the Unovan Police, please open the door."

There was silence on the other side. Janice exchanged glances with Mark, and the officers all pulled out their pistols and prepared to fire if necessary. With a deep calming breath, Janice tried the doorknob and found that it was unlocked. She slammed open the door and burst inside.

"Hands up where I… Can see… them," Janice started, loud at first and trailing into an awkward quiet seeing the old woman who had been on her way to the door when they charged in. "Uh… ma'am."

She raised her thin eyebrows. "Can I help you officers with anything?"

They fidgeted and exchanged sheepish glances at their overreaction. Mark holstered his pistol for the clearly miffed old woman. "Sorry, ma'am. We're searching for the thing from-"

"And you think it's in my house?" Annette asked incredulously.

"We don't know. That's why we're here," Janice responded, rubbing her forehead. "I'm Captain Janice Rodgers. Sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Reagan."

"Not one step more!" Annette snapped at her, though in her usual quiet tone. Janice froze. "Your boots are filthy! If you think you are going to track that grime in my house, you are very much mistaken."

Mark and Janice shrugged at each other and sighed, removing their boots. "This woman is like seventy pounds of skin and anger…" Harry muttered under his breath.

"Okay… Now, ma'am, we just need a quick look through the house to ensure that it is clear for the safety of the people of Castelia."

"The people of Castelia?" Annette repeated. "Having that hellish monster in _my_ house is a threat to _my_ safety!"

Janice sighed heavily and turned to Mark. "You try to make sense with her… I quit."

Mark stepped forward as nicely as possible. "Mrs. Annette… The city is in a state of emergency to catch this criminal. We are humbly requesting your cooperation to-"

"You aren't asking. You're demanding," Annette returned with a dainty sniff.

At the sound of footsteps, they turned their attention to the stairs to see the man who had walked down them, a veteran trainer. Confusion was clear on his face and he paused. "What is going on here?"

"Well… You see…" Harry began timidly.

The veteran trainer descended the stairs with a pointed look at Mrs. Reagan. "Nana… What did you do?"

She smiled pleasantly with a major mood swing in a happier direction. "I didn't do anything… Don't be silly, my dear boy."

"Of course not," he said with a sigh. "Officers, is there a problem?"

Janice stepped forward with her hand extended for a handshake. "I'm Janice Rodgers, captain of Beta Squad of the Castelia Police force."

"I'm Sam. Is there something I can help the Beta Squad with?" he asked pleasantly, the scar running down the side of his face shifting as he smiled.

"We're investigating the monster that appeared on the Skyarrow Bridge road half an hour ago," Mark answered dutifully and respectfully.

Sam looked from one officer to the other and then back at his grandmother questioningly. "What monster?"

Harry's jaw dropped. "You don't know?"

"I was preoccupied… I don't watch the news a whole lot, obviously I should. What did I miss?"

"Turn on the news. It's probably still airing. The news reporters are going crazy," Harry stated dryly, with far less respect towards the veteran. Sam walked over to the TV and was turned it on as Harry had another epiphany. "Actually, don't. You can't un-see that and it's crazy."

Sure enough, the footage was playing again and the past echo rang again. Sam's face didn't change. Once it was over, he turned it back off and nodded thoughtfully. "So… You're trying to find it? I'm not going to lie, if that thing was here, I'd know, but you're more than welcome to search the house."

"Finally! Someone who gets it!" Harry said, not bothering to be quiet.

"Sam… If they break anything, you're going to be in trouble and I'll sue the Police Department," she warned.

"Of course, ma'am," Mark replied wearily.

As they moved off to search, Sam followed, merging with their group. Janice gave him a strange look. "Just to make sure you don't get me in trouble," he said with another pleasant and disarming smile.

"Oh, of course! Yeah… We just need to do a quick walkthrough and we'll be gone," she answered.

"I understand. I'm sure you're very busy after all. Come with me, I'll guide you around," he offered and she nodded her approval. Taking great care not to bump or otherwise disturb anything, they all followed him up the stairs and through quickly. He chatted with them easily and with perfect social grace.

Janice walked up the last staircase of the condo leading to the roof as he held the outside door open.

"Obviously, this is all there is to see… And they aren't any monsters anywhere," he stated.

Harry snorted. "All there is to see? Bullshit. You've got a pretty damn great view of the city."

Janice sighed heavily as Mark and Harry started arguing. "All of you go back… Now. And don't touch anything."

Sulkily, they left, closing the door behind them. Janice flicker her gray eyes in the direction of the veteran trainer still standing beside her, eyeing the two scars on his face. "According to our records, Mrs. Annette lives alone. Who are you and how long have you been here?"

"Ah… Annette is my grandmother… We have recently reunited. I came here after travelling around for a while with my pokemon," he answered pleasantly.

Janice sighed with relief, seeing that he was telling the truth. "Alright… That's good. I didn't want to get you in trouble after you helped us. Thanks again…"

"No problem… Now you should probably get back to work. I don't know what that monster is that you're looking for, but I wouldn't want to stop you from finding it," he said as he opened the door for her politely. They walked back downstairs and with all the social grace of a prince, he saw them off. As they walked out the door, they missed seeing the knowing look and the smirk that passed between the old widow and the young veteran.

Outside, Janice turned back to the closed door. "He was very nice… The veteran trainer, I mean. Is he in our records?"

"Yeah… Samuel Reagan. Says he's from some small area on the other side of the bay and he came here, so there's not much," one of the small officers answered.

"Which reminds me that we need to work on establishing communication there," Mark added.

"I just hope we find that thing before it comes back," Janice stated grimly. "Or we really will have to cleanse the city."

"Hey, at least we have an excuse now to arrest all those thieves and hackers all over the city," Harry pointed out with a yawn.

Janice nodded. "And if I know my dad, it won't be much longer."

* * *

**AN:** And there you have it. Sam's little ruse to scare them manages to scare the daylights out of anyone watching Castelia News (which means that you missed the program, shame of shame). And of course, tip of the hat to the fact that the Skyarrow Bridge is closed in BW2. I'm so clever.

BTW, I based his 'mask' off my own Halloween mask... Except mine isn't quite so distorted. I wish it was... But, alas, no.

Big thank you to my beta and good friend, **DarkAngelTorchic!** Wonderful person and writer, seriously.

And here comes the big kahuna of news... GSTA: Zacre has been scrapped. I know. But, upon thinking about it, I realized that it is distracting from the story at ha-... coming up, and me and DAT decided that there are much better/horrible alternatives. SO, in it's place is a _new_ story arc meshed with the first of the mystery arcs that you know nothing about. It will be close to 10 chapters long as opposed to 40 (Zacre). Which also, my dear readers, means that GSTA will be ending _much_ sooner. I've gotten quite a few new story ideas that I'd like to commit myself to and Sam, the poor man, is getting tired. Methinks it's getting high time for him to retire.

I know you probably have a lot of questions, and feel free to ask, but understand that I try very hard not to give spoilers, and, frankly, the only thing certain at this point is that GSTA will be finished this coming August.

**Thank you for reading and have a wonderful Friday!**


	9. Chapter 9

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Like clockwork, the tides come in and out, ebbing like time and flowing across the drowned carcasses of all the things that could not take its lashing. Any object caught on the shore was ripped from its home and dragged out to sea with unforgiving strength. But every morning, the tides returns and leaves its backwash on the beaches.

What it delivered that morning was not just shells and a few odd precious items, but a ship. One that hardly anyone saw come in, but saw it for days after. Three passengers left that ship, not too far behind another that had come and dropped off just one young man.

The bartender of the Sonata cleaned a glass tirelessly, watching it grow brighter. He looked up at the sound of his door opening and paused in his work before looking to the floor. It was of little use, which he knew. He grabbed a letter and slid it across the counter.

"Message for you, madam," was all he said.

The note was struck by a long, red, perfectly manicured nail and dragged to be opened and looked upon by crimson eyes.

* * *

Natural Harmonia, better known as N, returned to the great Plasma castle. Looking about the fanciful halls of his very own castle, he realized that the very atmosphere of the underground keep had changed. _Everything is so polished and neat… A whole new equation is at a play_, he mused to himself, removing his black and white baseball cap, passing by a sparkling pool of water and several old-looking pillars.

Many of the knights were busy working, highly unusual. Ghetsis had an efficient way of sending out orders, but that didn't mean that those orders got carried out efficiently, especially after thirty percent of the garrison flew the coup after the monster of yesterday's news. _What happened while I was away? What variable am I missing?_

His sneakers relatively silent on the tiled floor, N went straight past his room of favorite toys and towards the meeting room. "Anthea… Concordia, what's going on?"

The two girls turned around; Concordia with a bright smile, Anthea with a mild look of contempt. "We've got visitors," Anthea answered shortly and walked away, brushing past him.

N ignored it with his usual childish, limited perception. "Is she not feeling well today?"

"… I don't know," Concordia answered innocently. "But didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?"

Concordia couldn't seem to contain herself. "She's here! She came _here_! Ghetsis is so happy… I've never seen him so happy!"

N smiled brightly back. When Ghetsis was in a good mood, everyone was in a good mood. Plus, he hadn't seen his 'mother' since he was five and that was almost a decade ago, though he'd heard plenty about her to remind him that she was still alive, just in a different place. Together, he and Concordia walked into the meeting room to see the affectionate embrace between the only two parental figures he remembered if not ever had. They weren't the only ones there, he noticed. A very sour-faced man was standing off to the side with his arms folded across his chest.

"Ghetsis?" N said timidly to get attention, but not wishing to interrupt.

The couple parted slightly to look at him, and his mother smiled after a moment. "Natural? … Hello, dear," she greeted as approached him. "My, my, how you've grown… How are you?"

N returned the warm hug happily. "I'm fine. We're starting our pokémon liberation! Ghetsis has been helping me!"

She smiled at him, the amused look on her face going over his head. "How lovely… I'm sure that you'll succeed. We can't have those nasty trainers misusing their pokémon after all. They should be taken away for the good of the world. It's only natural for humans and pokémon to be separated."

Turning away from him, her crimson eyes landed on the young blonde woman. "And you are… Concordia? I don't believe we've met."

Concordia nodded, blushing shyly. "No… But I've heard so much about you. Daddy talks about you a lot."

Her eyebrows raised and she gave Ghetsis a curious look. "I see… Well it's lovely to meet you dear," she returned, giving the clearly special girl a kiss on the forehead before returning to Ghetsis's side with another curious look at him.

"Concordia… You should go. Take N with you," Ghetsis said, dismissing them gently.

"Wait! I need to talk to you!" N interrupted. The sour-faced man gave him a cold stare, but N continued. "Did Gorm tell you about the thief we met?"

All three of the grown-ups paused. "What thief?" Ghetsis asked suspiciously.

N brushed off Concordia, who was trying to pull him out of the room. "You had the Shadow Triad so we needed a new way to get that dragon skull. We found a guy who managed to do it! And just as well as the Shadow Triad! All we could do was throw a smoke bomb and it only held for a few seconds, but he still managed to get it! It was… It was almost like he wasn't there at all!"

Ghetsis nodded slowly, taking in what the boy was spouting at him excitedly. "I see…"

"And I think he's on our side," N exclaimed. "I talked to him a week ago and he seemed interested!"

The Madame exchanged a look with Ghetsis and spoke to him quietly. "I didn't know that criminals around here were that talented."

"They aren't," he returned quietly to her. "What did he look like?" he asked N.

N paused as he thought about it. "Darker skin… Dark brown hair and eyes… Scar on his cheek, like this," he explained drawing the line on his cheek where the scar was. The expression on the already sour-faced man deepened and he shook his head and rolled his eyes. Even his mother pursed her lips together with a mildly irritated expression. "I… Can go get a picture of him. There's got to be one from a security camera or from the database or something."

"Yes, please go do that," Ghetsis urged emotionlessly. N left quickly and Concordia followed after giving Ghetsis a worried look. Once the two innocents were gone he looked to the Madame. "I take it that would the Thief Lord's right-hand man who you've been trying to kill."

She pulled at her brow. "I hate him… I really wish he would just die. I _shot _him."

Cyrus snorted. "So? If you'd let me have my way, he'd be dead. This is your fault now."

"He would not and you know it!" she returned heatedly. "If you would have just killed him outright when you had the chance, this wouldn't be a problem. And I believe that I sent _two_ of your wonderful men down to shoot him and they tried to kill each other first."

Ghetsis raised his eyebrows. "It doesn't matter. We have the Shadow Triad… He won't be leaving Unova and he's already angered the police so we probably won't even have to deal with him. And maybe it's a different guy. Have you ever seen his face in person?"

"I have. I wouldn't forget _him_," Cyrus answered dryly.

The Madame sighed. "I've never really seen his face. I simply have a brief description of him and I know that his name is Sam. That's all."

"Well, when N comes back, we'll know for certain if it really is… Sam, was it? And then we can kill him and be done with it," Ghetsis said to his less than enthusiastic and very sarcastic lover.

"You do realize that the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island fell on top of him, I sent him against Groudon, he spent a few days in interrogation with Cyrus, was supposedly executed, and then was shot and left to bleed to death… It's not as simple as just 'killing' him. We're going to have to _over_kill him and I want to be there to personally ensure that he dies and _stays_ dead this time," she answered flatly. Ghetsis's face was a mixture of surprise and confusion.

Cyrus thought it over. "I say we burn the body afterwards… That would make sure he doesn't come back."

"Not a bad idea actually," Madame answered him. "I'll think on it. No mistakes this time though. I'm getting _really_ tired of having to deal with him."

"Well, then… I suppose we should corner him first to make sure he doesn't get away… I shouldn't be too hard with all of my pokémon."

"Ah, but corner him where? The only reason we caught him in Sinnoh is because he came to us… To free Steven Stone and some other steel-type trainer named Riley."

Ghetsis narrowed his one good eye. "Why would you capture Steven Stone? That's just a quick way to get yourself killed."

"It wasn't _my_ idea."

Cyrus rolled his eyes and scowled. "That was last year. Can we get over it now?"

"He's learned his mistake, don't worry," she assured Ghetsis, who staring at Cyrus skeptically.

"I hope so… For our sake."

Their conversation died off as N burst back into the room, talking very fast and rambling about something as he set up the picture. Cyrus moved to join Ghetsis and Madame to see the screen clearly. Madame leaned against the table impatiently and with the same bodily confidence as always, Ghetsis beside her proudly while Cyrus plopped down in a chair.

"It took awhile because he seems to know where there are security cameras are and always has his face turned away, but he's registered as a Veteran Trainer now," N explained he turned on the projector and the pictured suddenly appeared on the screen. It was a very good photo; the smirk that seemed ever present on his face and the very same determined look was there, though masked with the pleasant smile.

Cyrus sighed. "Yeah… That would be him… …" After hearing nothing from his two older companions he turned around and paused with surprise.

Ghetsis, who Cyrus already knew enough about to know that he was a very poised man, was gaping at the picture, looking completely shell-shocked. The whole table jerked as the volatile woman known simply as 'Madame' threw herself away from the picture and staggered back until she was against the wall. Her eyes were wide and never leaving the picture as she was shaking her head slightly.

"It can't be… It can't be… No! It _can't_ be!"

Ghetsis turned back to look at her with a similar expression of something bordering on fear.

N's hold on the projector remote slipped and it clattered to the floor, his eyes were huge and he looked even more terrified then they did as the Madame slowly slipped to the floor. "I didn't… I didn't mean to! What did-"

His useless, panicked apologies seemed to bring Ghetsis back to reality. "N, go to your room now." Like a scared bunny, N fled quickly, closing the door behind him. Ghetsis walked over and kneeled beside his sweetheart and held her as best as he could with one arm, running his good hand through her hair gently as he spoke to her calmly.

"It can't be…" she said again quietly. She looked at him with an almost innocent expression and curiosity, though she seemed greatly calmed by his presence.

"Gareth… How can that be? It can't be… He can't be… You killed Him, right?" she asked, clearly on the verge of a breakdown.

"Of course… I killed Him myself. I promised you that I would… He's dead, Melanie. He is not coming back; I did exactly as you said. Remember? You wanted him to suffer, so I killed the boy first, and I made sure he was dead. He was stabbed repeatedly in front of him, just like you asked, and I checked for a pulse myself. The woman was killed too, strangled till her neck snapped. And then I shot Him through the head myself and didn't leave until I was sure he stopped breathing. He's dead. They're _all_ dead. I promise, Melanie," he answered.

She relaxed even more, clinging to him and staring at the picture projected onto the wall quietly. Cyrus finally decided to speak up in the silence after sitting there and staring quietly. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"

His question fell on deaf ears as they either ignored him or really didn't hear him.

"Look, he's not the right age… He would be… in his sixties now. This man is far too young for that," Ghetsis pointed out to further relax her.

"There must be something we missed… There's no way they can look so alike. There is no way…" she stated, her face returning slowly to a more natural expression for her. "He is the spitting image…"

Ghetsis paused, and looked back to the picture with a grim expression. "There was… One thing. They went completely off-grid for almost six months several years before… It's possible that there was another son… And it fits the timeline."

* * *

**AN:** Well, you guys are probably all holding your heads right now trying to process what you have just read... I know for a fact that Gui caught on to the fact earlier that some things Sam says and what the story has been telling you about his past weren't matching up. There is a reason for that, and we'll get there. For now, let's go into the logics of this revelation: you might be thinking, Madame (Melanie) shot him in Sinnoh! She has SO seen him before!  
Ah! But she didn't actually _look at _him_. _She didn't even know who he was at the time other than someone to be shot and left for dead. Just another dead man to her, she didn't care. This is the FIRST time they have come 'face-to-face'... in a manner of speaking.

Big thank you to my friend and beta, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

**Thank you for reading and have a wonderful Friday!**


	10. Chapter 10

No copyright infringement intended.

**Reference to Pokésims in this chapter. I am not Tori though. If you don't know what Pokésims is... Google it. There's a wiki now, but go to the blog on Tumblr.

* * *

The city of blinding lights: Nimbasa City. Every night the city lit up like a permanent flash of lightning in the night sky. Even in the day, though, the city was still a bright flash of a city decked out with fountains and neon colors.

"So… This is Nimbasa… Looks like fun," Sam commented to Annette, with a small smirk. He was wearing his veteran's uniform and she was wearing most of hers, with a few marks of a socialite.

"Oh, it is. You can spend _hours_ here and barely manage to see it all. I do want to show you the amusement park and we _must _go to the Subway so you can see the casino underneath. It really is a spectacular place _a__nd_ that's where you're the most likely to find that phone that you need," she explained.

"Yes, yes… Play then work. I know the drill. But first, my pokémon could use a Pokémon Center," Sam said, looking around. There was still sand on his coat from their trip through the desert. He let his whole team out to battle and get some experience. They were getting better, no doubt but they had a long way to go by Michael's standards.

"Head west, right down this street," Annette answered, pointing.

"Alright. You stay here, I won't leave you alone for a moment longer than necessary," he said with a wink at her.

"Mm-hm. Just go. Arceus, you're so silly."

With a quick wave goodbye, he walked away and stepped into the bright peachy orange of the Pokémon Center. The nurse straightened up immediately seeing a customer. She smiled brightly as she said her routine greeting, "Good afternoon! Welcome to the Pokemon Center. We restore your tired your tired pokémon to full health. Would you like to rest your pokémon?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered as he handed over four pokéballs, keeping Michael, Cat, and Zora for obvious reasons.

She gathered them up in her arms and set them on the machine behind her. "It'll be a few moments. Your pokémon are very tired."

Sam smiled pleasantly, already warned that this would happen to him. "Of course. Take your time."

"_In case you haven't noticed, Veteran Trainers get some pretty special treatment. If you go to a Pokémon Center, they will take time ensuring your pokemon's health."_ Sam glanced back at the nurse fretting over the four pokémon. _Too bad special treatment takes longer._

As he looked back over the Center, he caught sight of a pink sweatshirt. He paused as it seemed familiar. _What was his name…? Adrian? No, a little different… Adyran._

Very similar to when he'd first met Adyran, he simply sat down at the chair opposite from him without any warning at all. "Hey."

The pale-skinned young man with the blue eyes looked up with open surprise and Sam could tell that he muttered a curse under his breath as a blush came over his face.

"Nice to see you again too," Sam said with a sigh, feigning hurt even though he really couldn't care less. He just needed some way to amuse himself so he wouldn't get into trouble.

Adyran said nothing, and his bubblegum pink hair hid a good portion of his face. "W-what do you want?" he finally asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Adyran repeated.

Sam shrugged. "I'm just bored. What are you doing today? Hacking into anything interesting?"

"No," he answered quickly.

Sam shrugged as a woman walked in with a little preschooler trying to pronounce letters from some flashcards.

"You stay here, Janie, I'll be right back!" the woman said.

Janie, the little girl, nodded and kept practicing with her flashcards. "A, bee, see, kay… Rrr… Rrr?" She paused and looked at the only other people in the Center. "Mister, mister! What's this letter?"

Sam and Adyran both turned to look and both flinched and paused. The flashcard was an 'R' printed big in red. Sam smiled pleasantly, getting over it quickly. "That's an R."

"Are?" she repeated innocently, ignoring the fact that Adyran had visibly paled and was looking the other way now. "Are… Thanks, mister!" she chirped happily, before skipping off.

_Been a while since that came up_… He mused to himself, when she left. He looked up expecting a confused look from Adyran only to see that the iconic red R had earned the same reaction from him. "You're from Johto, aren't you?"

Adyran looked up. "Y-you know of… Them too?"

Sam smiled bitterly. "I know Team Rocket very well…" He paused for a moment before asking, "What did they do to you?"

"I… T-they murdered s-someone very c-close t-to me…" Adyran said, pursing his lips together and keeping his gaze the other way.

Sam flinched. "I'm sorry…"

"It's n-not your fault."

"Actually… It kinda is. I was in Kanto when that whole fiasco started… And I tried to stop it by myself. All I ended up doing was blowing up Cinnabar and forcing them into a corner so they got scared and ran to Johto to hide," Sam recounted.

Adyran stared at him. "Y-you tried… To stop them?"

"Yeah… 'Tried' is the keyword though," he stated dryly. _Especially since they're still out there._

"Why'd you do it?" Adyran asked, seeming more comfortable around Sam knowing that common, if negative, link.

"They took one of my pokémon and experimented on it… It's a long story, really," Sam answered dismissively.

Adyran nodded slowly, each understanding and respecting that Team Rocket was not something that people who knew enjoyed talking about. Adyran had checked back in with his employers, Cyrus and the cruel-hearted Madame, and he knew enough about the person in front of him that he had done a lot more than he was letting on.

"So… D-do you th-think that they're… Still out there?" Adyran asked with concern.

Sam gave him an assessing look before saying, "I'm only going to tell you this because I think you deserve to know; yes, Team Rocket still exists. I don't know where they are, but I can tell you that the new boss is some psycho old lady who goes by the name, 'the Madame'."

"Sir! Your pokémon are healed!" the nurse cried out joyfully, looking very pleased with herself.

Sam stood up and left Adyran, vaguely noting that he had paled further.

"Thank you for waiting! We've restored your pokémon to full health. We hope to see you again!" Adyran heard the nurse chirp from behind him. Sam walked past him and offered a quick wave goodbye.

_I'm on the wrong side…_ He hadn't liked Cyrus or the lady from the start, but he had always worked for the highest bidder. Criminal organizations were hardly anything new to him. He looked at his computer screen and then at the porygon that was really his ditto Skip. The Madame had him working on a virus that would effect Pokémon Center computers that would allow them to steal all the pokémon stored inside and she was Team Rocket. She paid well, but no amount of money in the world could convince him to work for Team Rocket. Skip gave him a mystified look as he closed his laptop immediately.

* * *

Sam rejoined Annette with a smile. "Did you miss me?"

"I did… Actually, some boy was just here asking about you. He said his name was N or something silly like that," Annette told him, setting a gloved hand on his arm.

"Really?" _Arceus, that kid again? _"What did he want?" Sam asked, less than cheerfully.

"I don't know. He talks awful fast," she answered walking forward.

"Well, maybe if we're lucky we'll manage to avoid him."

"One-sided friendship?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know. All I can tell you is that I think he's annoying and _ridiculously_ naïve."

"Oh… Well, anyway, let's go to the Amusement Park! It's more fun at night, but we'll probably still be at the casino then."

"Amusement Park sounds fun. Actually, it sounds like it should go on my ever-growing list of things to bring back home with me," Sam said as they walked across the bridge and into park. Sam eyed the giant pikachu tent on one side and couldn't help but think of Red. Not that Red ever looked that cheerful, it was just a default association.

As they walked further along, Annette pointed at a dome-shaped, neon-doused building. "That's the gym. Elesa is the gym leader here. There's a rollercoaster inside, but you'd have to defeat a lot of trainers and I'm sure you don't want to do that."

"You're right- I don't," Sam answered with a grin. "You know me so well."

"Well, I know what you will and won't do. That's about it," Annette answered. "Otherwise, you're still a mystery."

"Good to know. I'd hate to be an open book," he said with wink before looking up at the Ferris wheel that they'd approached. Annette stopped suddenly beside him, drawing his attention back down to what was in front of him; N.

_Arceus give me the patience not to kill him_.

"I was looking for you," N began with a child's confidence. "I must hear the voices of your pokémon! We must battle!" he declared.

Sam stared at him for a few moments. "No."

"Then… Wait… No?" N repeated.

"No. I didn't come to Nimbasa City to play stupid games with you. No."

"But… This is a trainer battle! You can't refuse," N stated.

"I'm pretty sure I can refuse. See you later, kid." Sam turned to leave coldly. N, refusing to take no for an answer, released his sandile.

"Sand tomb," he ordered it. The confused sandile summoned a sand storm that raged between Sam and his way out. Sam turned around looked at the boy with a glare strong enough to freeze Hell over.

N didn't back down, though he was clearly unsettled. "I_ must _hear the voices of your pokémon."

Sam was about say something heavily sarcastic in return, but Sarhan, sensing the danger, broke out of his pokéball and readied his blades for the fight.

N's face changed immediately into shock and then irritation after appearing to listen for a moment. "Use mud-slap," he ordered.

Sarhan looked at Sam for orders. "No! Sarhan, get back in your pokéball. Sarhan!"

Against Sam's orders, Sarhan made up his own and pounced on the little sandile, scratching with its gauntlets. As soon as it jumped back, the sandile retaliated by throwing a ball of mud into his face. Sarhan stumbled back with a pained squeal and clearly couldn't see very well.

N was relentless. "Keep going. Don't let it off for a second."

Sarhan tried to glare at N's sandile, but it didn't work since it was less than intimidating with tears streaming from its eyes. The sandile threw another ball of mud, hitting perfectly again.

Sam cursed repeatedly under his breath at the disobedient pokémon and at N. "Sarhan… Use fury cutter!" Sam called out, knowing only that it seemed pretty effective against the little ground pokémon. He still didn't know jack about typing of Unovan pokémon.

Sarhan listened immediately and went for a strike with its blades. By some miracle, the attack landed despite the low chances of the unreliable move. It didn't really matter as the sandile further weakened the pawniard and hampered his ability to see.

Sarhan tried again to land a strike, but missed and once again took a mud-slap to the face. Hurt and visibly on the verge of collapse, Sarhan tried one last time and made the strike, earning a second pained squeal from the sandile, before taking a final blow and falling down with a meek whimper.

Sam recalled the fallen pawniard to the pokéball. "Are we done here? You happy, captain save all pokémon in the world? You just seriously injured one of your little friends."

N pursed his lips together. "It was necessary. Now, I know you have more than that. This battle isn't over yet."

Sam scowled and pulled out another pokéball, very much aware that it didn't matter which one he pulled out. It just so happened to be Diana next.

She looked at the sandile in front of her and snorted- battling was beneath her. Or, at least it was until the sandstorm the sandile had created blew a tuft of her carefully groomed fur the wrong way. Almost immediately, she started growling demonically and was rightfully blaming the sandile.

"By all means, Diana, unleash your dragon fury," Sam said, which Diana was more than happy to oblige. She was more obedient than Sarhan. All the dark rage that burned inside her little body was unleashed in a shock wave of pure wrath that blew the sandile back and it fainted immediately.

N looked shocked and looked at the snarling deino strangely before recalling the sandile and releasing his next pokémon, an odd-looking yellow lizard that kept pulling up its shed skin like it was a pair of pants.

Diana snorted and gnashed her teeth. Sam took that as a cue. "Go bite it."

The lizard pokémon, which Sam knew was a scraggy, didn't move and didn't seem even a little fazed by Diana's bite. She backed away and pouted at not being effective.

"Scraggy, use headbutt!" Scraggy charged forward and slammed its rock-hard, round head Diana like a bulldozer, bowling her over before running back to N.

Diana got back up, but a little shakily. "Uh… Dragonbreath?" Sam decided after thinking it over for a moment. Diana exhaled a mighty gust of damaging dragon power, staggering the scraggy for a moment.

"Use brickbreak," N commanded, knowing his typing much better than Sam did. Diana didn't have a chance. Scraggy attacked with a swift chop right to her back and it landed with a crunching sound. Diana screeched with pain before falling. Sam grimaced, the pain-filled cries of his own pokémon and even others were hard to listen to. Well, hard for him. N didn't seem to mind, interestingly enough.

"Good thing N doesn't have a bug pokémon out," Sam grumbled as he released Hercules.

The first thing the clumsy pokémon did was trip and fall. "Hercules… We've discussed this; you've got to find your center of balance." _Now… If I remember, none of his attacks were good against a scraggy except for normal so… _

"Mega Punch for the win, Hercules. Every opportunity you've got," Sam told the strange little golett.

"Brickbreak again," N commanded confidently. The scraggy went for another of the swift chops that had brought down Diana in one shot, but it didn't affect Hercules. Scraggy gave his trainer a puzzled look before Hercules ran up and slugged it in the abdomen with a muscle-packed fist. Scraggy was knocked on his back and was struggling to get up.

Sam guessed that one more hit would do it, but N wasn't going to let his star player go so easily just yet. "Swagger!" The scraggy yelled something out and Hercules responded like any pokémon would, he became angry but also confused.

Pouncing forward, he tried to get a mega punch in, but missed, hurting himself. "Scraggy, use faint attack!"

The injured scraggy that could only take one more hit approached Hercules disarmingly before nailing him with a sucker punch.

Sam grimaced and waited for Hercules to take care of himself, knowing how this was doomed to end badly. In a short little dance of Hercules trying and failing to hit N's scraggy, Hercules kept hurting himself and the scraggy kept using faint attack until Hercules exhausted himself and could no longer continue.

With a tired sigh, Sam let out the last pokémon he was willing to use, Patch, who was much stronger than the other three and N's pokémon.

N paled at the sight of the war-torn pokémon veteran. Even the scraggy didn't look quite so eager to battle. "Brick break," N tried.

Sam shrugged at Patch's look. "A simple hit will do." Having delayed orders, Scraggy attacked first, and while the brickbreak clearly hurt Patch, it wasn't near enough to bring the warrior down. Patch proceeded to pounce on the injured scraggy and slam his foreleg into his face until he heard the pokémon admit defeat with a whimper.

N recalled the scraggy meekly and released the red fur ball known as a darumaka. Despite their size, Sam knew the little pokémon had some very powerful moves that he would have to be careful of.

"Patch… Secret power."

"Darumaka, use fire punch!"

Patch attacked first, slamming into the little red pokémon with brute force. In turn, Darumaka retaliated with a fiery punch into Patch's bad eye. Sam grimaced, but Patch hardly yelped as fire spread across his fur, burning him.

"Patch, heal yourself," Sam ordered.

Patch didn't listen to him though; offense was what won battles. Patch went for a reckless, full-body charge, slamming into Darumaka mercilessly, damaging himself in the process and weakened by the energy-sapping burn.

"Patch! Heal yourself, now!"

"Darumaka, fire punch again!" N commanded.

Somehow, Patch survived the hit, though clearly running dangerously low on fumes. Even still, he persisted with a finishing body slam, making the darumaka faint, but also hurting himself so critically that he was now bleeding from a scrape along his side with blood welling from the worsening burn.

It almost didn't look like he was going to get back up and N hesitated pulling out his last pokémon.

"Patch, come here. We're done, okay? Patch!" Sam called out repeatedly, desperately trying to convince the pokémon to give up the fight that they were not going to win. Sam didn't care about losing; he just cared about his pokémon, which was precisely why he let Michael train the pokémon and why he avoided trainer battles at all.

All Patch did was unleash a small burst of healing power to treat the burn. Sam looked at the floating, clay bird thing and back at Patch, who was clearly determined to win this or die trying.

"N, recall your pokémon, we're done here."

"No, we aren't. Pokemon battles cannot be declared as won until the last pokémon faints," N argued, repeating what he'd been told about battles and too stubborn and naïve to accept anything less. "Sigilyph, air cutter!"

With Patch resisting being recalled, N convinced that he had to win the battle by the traditional standards, Sam did the only thing he could; he got between Patch and the Sigilyph.

"N, we are done. You win, I lose. Recall your pokémon now," Sam commanded.

N looked genuinely surprised and motioned for his Sigilyph, who wasn't going to attack a human anyway, to back off. Patch protested his interference meekly, but finally allowed himself to be recalled to his pokéball. Sam turned around to face N.

"So what do you want from me? Money?" he asked.

N shook his head. "Of course not. I'm not a trainer like that. Since you lost, you aren't a proper trainer. I'll have to take your pokémon away now."

Sam froze and stared at the boy standing in front of him with an incredulous look. "Are you… Okay, you know what?" Sam started turning around returning to where he had been standing moments ago. "I like fair fights so normally I wouldn't do this, but you have _royally_ pissed me off now."

He released Michael onto the field who had assumed the guise of an audino before being released since he knew what the pokémon was capable of after hanging around Patch. N stared at the pokémon with confusion.

Sigilyph started to try an air cutter, since it was cut off last time, but the scales were vastly in Michael's favor and Sigilyph didn't have an icicle's chance in Hell. It was blown back from an explosively strong shadow ball, that knocked N off his feet and made the sigilyph faint instantaneously.

Sam walked over to N, who was still lying on the ground from shock. Using the toe of his boot as if nudging a disgusting carcass, he turned N's face towards him. "I don't want to see you ever again. Do you understand me?" N could do little more than stare for a good few moments before nodding slowly, realizing very clearly in that moment why Ghetsis and Aunty were so upset by his presence in Unova.

Getting the answer he wanted, he recalled Michael to his pokéball and walking over to Annette. "Now, I think we should probably get out of here."

"And you've got pokémon to heal… Another trip to the Pokemon Center, I suppose," Annette said, deciding not to ask about the battle that Sam was clearly already past.

"Except N also needs to go there…"

"You can heal your pokémon at the casino below the Subway, just come with me," Annette told him, leading him in the direction of the huge building sprawling across a good third of the city. They walked inside and down the steps to the huge atrium. Various different colored subway trains were parked in their stalls. They walked to the exact other side of the room to a blank steel panel that didn't have poster or train in it. The conductor standing nearby in a green uniform stared at them.

Annette tapped on the shoulder. "I heard of a casino around, can you help me find it?"

The conductor looked around to see if anyone was watching before walking over to a tile in the floor. Sam saw what looked like a chip in the sole of his shoe. As soon as he stepped on the circular tile, the panel behind them opened quietly. Annette ushered him inside quickly, waving a 'thank you' at the conductor. Sam walked down into the well-lit room.

It was the biggest, and truth be told, the nicest casino he'd ever seen. "I'll leave you to explore. I want to talk to an old friend," Annette said before disappearing, taking his injured pokémon with her.

She no more than left him before Vera showed up and gave him a kiss. "Hello… What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I assume, looking for the person who has that magical cellphone," she answered. "And I think I may have found the man you're looking for. Come with me, I'll take you to him _and _introduce you to the brothers who run this subway."

Sam followed her through the crowd to a wall of dartboards where three men were standing. Two were almost identical; wearing matching uniforms, except one was mostly black and the other white. Beside them was a young man with messy blue hair styled strangely and dressed in a navy blue suit and no socks.

"Argh! Grimsley, I quit! You _always_ beat me at darts. I've never won a single round against you!" the black-coated brother complained.

Grimsley smirked and shrugged, flipping his pale yellow scarf back. "That's because I'm the master of darts, Ingo."

"Ingo, Grimsley… And Emmet, this is the man I was telling you about," Vera said, interrupting them.

"The thief from the Guild, huh?" Ingo said as he turned around.

The other twin brother, who Sam had already guessed to be Emmett pushed his brother out of the way and got very close to Sam's face before introducing himself. "Hello! I am Emmett! I like double battles. And I like winning!"

"Hi… I'm Sam."

Ingo pulled his clearly very excitable brother away from him. "I'm sorry… He's a little odd," Ingo explained with a glare at his twin.

"I'm Grimsley, dark type extraordinaire! And master at the game of darts," he added with a smug look at Ingo.

Vera gave Ingo a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "You'll beat him someday."

"I am Emmett and I will be there when my brother wins!" Emmett announced. "But! I am Emmett and I am very hungry…"

Ingo sighed and tried to pacify his brother with some random piece of candy from his pocket, but it apparently wasn't enough for Emmett. Sam took that opportunity to slip away from them and Vera followed.

"So you think Grimsley has it?" Sam asked, clarifying.

"Yes. He's Elite Four. He shouldn't be associating with people like us and he's very close to the brothers, so he'd need a way to contact them whenever he wanted to. I'm pretty sure he uses the phone that we're looking for."

"And how would we go about borrowing it from him?"

"I don't know. We'll have to talk to Peter. He'd know what to do," Vera said with a shrug.

Sam nodded with acceptance; he wasn't in a big hurry to get out of Unova just yet.

"So… Want to-"

"Can't. I came here with Annette so I can't just leave her," Sam replied, cutting her off. "Besides… I kinda want to watch this." Vera looked back to the three strange gentlemen as another game of darts was about to begin.

"I am Emmett and I think you should be more optimistic!"

"Fine! Optimism- I really think I'll win this time," Ingo said with fake enthusiasm.

Grimsley laughed. "Ingo, in the off chance of you winning, I'll marry you."

* * *

**AN:** And thus you have been introduced to 'Dartshipping', a Pokésims fake and ridiculous pairing that is ungodly funny! Again, all credit for that goes to Pokésims. Pokésims, as an explanation, is a tumblr blog run by Tori who created a lot of the Pokémon characters in Sims 3 and lets them run around and be... their Simselves, I guess.

Oh, and N and Sam are very clearly on opposite ends of the same spectrum now.

And... There was ADYRAN! Super fabulous **Adyran** belongs to** Cloud of Swirling Storm**!

Big thank you to my beta and good friend, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

**Thank you for reading and have a wonderful Friday!**


	11. Chapter 11

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Footsteps and heavy panting broke up the dark, moist air that filled the lair. Between laborious breaths, the worker gasped, "Sir… We caught a bunch of them!"

The weathered face turned from the glowing green crystal that gave everything around it a strange glow and catching the pearly white teeth as he smiled. "Excellent."

"We've got them… Just off the bridge, sir," the worker continued.

His boss strode up to him and clapped him heartily on the back. "Well now, don't keep me waitin'. Let's go see them troublesome rascals to a good nice cell," he said with a good-natured wink. The platform rose through the layers and layers of rock and soil to the top. Striding through the formal front room, no one would really suspect that the Gym Leader would be the gruff, hefty-looking man that he was. The worker followed closely at his side and they no more than walked out the door of the Gym before a voice behind them stopped them.

"Clay, I assume?"

The big man turned around sharply to see a veteran trainer leaning against the walls of his gym. "If yer waitin' for a battle, yer gonna halfta wait til later," Clay returned gruffly.

The trainer looked rather surprised. "A battle? Arceus, no. That's not why I'm here."

Clay narrowed his eyes as the trainer stood up fully and walked over to him, smiling slightly. "Then what are ya here fer?"

His grin widened. "Well, let me start by saying that my name is Sam… And I'm here because I heard about some trouble with Team Plasma and I wanted to help."

Clay shook his hand, a firm handshake on both sides and both maintaining eye contact with each other. "Sam, eh? Yer the first grain of sense round these parts. Unfortunately for ya, we already done got 'em rounded up."

"Oh, I know you do! But I've also heard some pretty shady rumors considering Team Plasma and I think you may want to rethink how securely you have them," Sam said slowly, choosing his words carefully.

Clay eyed him. "An' what makes ya think that ya can do better n' we can?"

Sam smiled disarmingly. "Well, let's just say that I qualify for more than one trainer title… The other being a black belt."

That took the large businessman by surprise and he gave the lean young man beside him another look and it dawned on him that he had several visible scars to prove, if nothing else, that he had been in combat before. His underling nudged him to get his attention.

"Sir… I meant to tell you, he helped us capture the Plasma folks. They tried to run across the bridge and he stopped them. I don't know how, but when we got there, they were all down."

Clay snorted. "That so? Whaddya hear and who from?"

"I heard that there is a small but dangerous trio of musketeers at Team Plasma's dispense. If the rumors that I've heard are to be believed, they are beyond dangerous. Deadly, even, and definitely above me…" Sam answered thoughtfully.

"An' who'd ya heard this from?"

Sam shrugged. "Lots of people, but no one you would know."

"Hrmph! An why should I trust anything ya say, huh?"

"Are you accusing me of lying?" Sam asked, unmoved.

Clay shook his head. "Ain't sure. But yer hidin' something. Ya with the Police or somethin'?"

Sam laughed. "Ha! No… Which is good for you too since, of course, you are hiding something as well. We can keep this very hush-hush. I won't tell if you won't tell," he offered.

Clay gave him an analyzing look that barely masked the approval and respect beneath. "Sounds right an' fair to me."

Sam grinned and clapped the much larger man on the back. "Perfect! And just in time too."

Clay and his worker approached the tied-up knights and one equally tied sage, Clay upping the level of intimidation to the max and several of the knights paled.

Sam hung back a little, observing and listening very intently. He scanned every tree branch, every roof, every niche they could be hiding, glancing behind him, searching for even the slightest trace of them. He caught sight of a slight flash in the corner of his eye and located the source: a long white hair waving in the breeze from a gutter. _They're here… Now the question is where?_

"-an if ya think yer goin' ta be causing a ruckus in this here town, I ain't havin' it. Ya can sit in the nice cold cells and cool yer jets, sfar as I'm concerned," Clay growled. He was about to further his line of steady threats and jabs when he was interrupted by his cross-transceiver ringing. After a brief conversation, which is to say, all of three words on Clay's part, he motioned for some of his men to lower the bridge.

Sam watched the workers for a few moments out of innocent curiosity as the great red bridge lowered before noticing a man dressed in black on the nearby rooftop, ready to strike.

Before Sam could even react or warn Clay, three black wraiths jumped down and cut the ropes binding the knights and their sage. The knights, mostly prepared for this moment, grabbed their leader and barreled through the sparse crowd to freedom. One of the Triad noosed a rope around Clay and tied him fast to a rail nearby before joining his two other comrades in running off, disappearing almost instantaneously.

Recovering from his initial shock, Sam followed them as closely as he could, giving a precious second away to see if someone was tending to Clay before taking off. They were fast, but if there was thing he had learned, you can't be fast and silent. It was almost a fact, as it held true with most things and it did this time. Tree branches got in their way as they leapt through the trees, leaves were shorn and fell, and anytime they jumped, the landing was audible.

They were running towards Clay's Gym, as best as Sam could tell. He could barely see them, but they left a fairly clear trail through the woods even if all he saw were short glimpses. By the time he reached the Gym, Sam decided that trying to catch them now wasn't going to work.

"Arceus damn it all… They're fast," he muttered under his breath. He straightened up and eyed the trail that was gradually got harder to pick out as they slowed up and became more careful. "No chance at catching them… Note to self, never bother trying to catch a ninja."

Seeing no reason to linger there, he turned back to return to Clay, but saw Hilda and Cheren and stopped short and turned back. _Bad idea…_ Instead, he walked to the southern edge of town, fairly certain that Hilda would go to either the Pokémon Center or the Market. Either way, he'd be in the opposite direction. As he walked that way, he saw a shoeprint that could only belong to the metal boots of everyone's favorite knights.

_Where could they be hiding? Oh_. _Oh shit._ His gaze found the Cold Storage and the doors closing and windows latching and he sighed again. _ I am not going in there… Arceus, why?!_

Clay strode past and went to his gym. Grumbling and whining, Cheren passed him first followed by a less than pleased Hilda. Seeing her face reminded him heavily of Sarah, who had a very similar expression when she was irritated. He felt just a little bit guilty about leaving without saying goodbye, but it was for the best. He needed to leave Unova, so all ties had to be cut sooner or later.

Once she was past, he slipped away towards Clay with the new information about Team Plasma. After all, they were both in this together now. Clay was waiting for him in the lobby pacing, hitting things with his hat, and growling like a wounded bear.

"You! Did ya catch them things?" Clay barked at him gruffly as soon as he saw Sam.

"No… They got away. Unfortunately, I was right about them being out of my league. We're not going to catch them ever," Sam answered honestly.

"So now what? I ain't lettin' them git away that easy!"

"Whoa, whoa now… Relax, no one said anything about letting the grunts get away. I-"

"Oh, they aren't gittin' away. Not while I'm here. I sent them trainers after 'em too. Don't know if they'll find 'em though."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Clay, I-"

"When I find them knights… They're going to curse the day they was born!" Clay ranted, continuously interrupting Sam.

With a sigh of irritation, Sam waited for Clay to pause long enough to get in a sentence. "Are you done?"

Clay stared at him for a moment, and then waved his hand. "What? Ya fixin' somethin' to say?"

"Yes. I'm pretty sure they're hiding in the Cold Storage," Sam finally stated without being interrupted.

Clay paused, thought about it, and then grinned. "Then we'll have 'em cornered. I'll call the boss there; see if they're really there er not. Meanwhiles, put on those or yull freeze to death where we're heading."

Sam looked at the winter clothing Clay had pointed out, trying to hide his relief. _Clay, you are a life-saver…_ Sam only took off his coat and hat to pull on the bright blue winter coat and snow pants, as well as yellow gloves, boots and hat with a gray facemask.

Clay nodded in approval as Sam pulled on his gloves. "Turns out yer right an' those kids done beat us to it. Let's go an' have 'em arrested fer trespassing and disturbing my city's peace," he growled, walking out the door with a few of his men, plus Sam, following close behind.

* * *

Any commander would have been ashamed at that moment to see a group of knights nervously backing away from two young kids. Hilda stood in front of the last of four she had faced, her pokémon lightly wounded now, but stronger. These armored fools had stolen her friend's pokémon and had generally been nuisances since she met them and to top it all off, N, who she had been just a little fond of, turned out to be the king of them all.

She sneered at them contemptuously and turned her cold glare to the sage cowering in a shivering lump of useless flesh. Cheren seemed to have the same idea she did; completely and utterly destroying his pokémon as well. Their vaguely communicated scheme was quickly interrupted by the sound of footsteps and Clay's heavy form stomping in the trailer with them.

"Well, I'll be! Hidin' in a chilly old place like this…" he shook his head with disbelief and a small smirk. He was clearly pleased to see these grunts. He turned around to face the workers that had followed him in. "You guys take these pokémon robbers!"

"Roger!" some of them declared and Hilda and Cheren quickly stepped out of their way. From her spot, Hilda watched them vaguely; they looked mostly the same to her with their facemasks and identical uniforms.

The first one to step forward had his two knights tied up quickly and yanked them out with a stern, "Come on!"

The second left with his two victims letting out a panicked squeak with the third following shortly. The fourth was far rougher with his crew, a knight and the sage, who was giving him trouble that was quickly rebuked with even harsher treatment. Without a word, he dragged the criminals out of the container, leaving Hilda and Cheren with Clay.

With a slight nod at each other, they stepped forward so that they were standing beside each other in front of the gruff gym leader. "You guys ain't so bad! Yup, a promise is a promise. Come on an' challenge my Gym!" he said before turning and leaving, following his captured prize happily. Cheren and Hilda exchanged looks with a shrug.

Cheren sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Whatever… Team Plasma's ideal… Separating people and pokémon… It's exactly the same as not having pokémon in this world at all. Hilda… It's cold, so I'm getting out of here."

Hilda looked out the container quietly, far colder than Cheren was but ignoring it. _What are you going to do to them, Clay? _

Seeing the little block of glowing ice, she picked it up and set in her bag quickly before leaving herself. The ice was hard to keep balance on, but she managed. There was far less ice to cross this time. Outside the dead grass was gathering frost slowly as the air got colder. She stepped inside the Pokémon Center quickly; handing her pokémon over and taking them back as quickly as possible, though the nurse was content to take her sweet time.

_I wonder if he's going to send them to prison… That would be rich, the bastards. I bet they wouldn't last two minutes in prison,_ she mused to herself as she walked behind the Center to the dome-like Gym.

"_Where'd you get all those scars?" She had asked so innocently with a pointed stare at the two deep lines on his face and several scars on his forearms. It was a question that had always bothered her. Someone had hurt him, this guy who nothing but nice to her and everyone in town._

_He'd seemed a little surprised by the question, but smiled. "I got in some trouble a few times. Nothing I couldn't handle… If I couldn't, I wouldn't be alive," he joked. He always joked._

_Hilda had always suspected, as had her mom, that he had been highly involved in sinister things but never asked. They didn't care- whoever he was outside Nuvema didn't matter._ She pursed her lips together and paused. _I wonder what he thinks of Team Plasma? Does he agree with them?_

She remembered all the times that she would venture out with him into the nearby Route. He could call a pokémon to him almost at will and they could play with the wild pokémon easily.

_Does he think pokémon shouldn't be in pokéballs too? That they should be freed? _For a moment, she felt a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the frosty temperature. Then she remembered how happy he was with the pokémon. _No… Team Plasma wants to separate people and pokémon forever. He wouldn't want that. He encouraged us to be trainers._

With her resolve to take Team Plasma down and to hopefully find Sam along the way, she stepped forward so the Gym was in full view, and so was Cheren. She ran the rest of the way, stopping a little behind Cheren when she saw the scene before her of Clay in a standoff with Ghetsis.

Ghetsis spoke first with that disarming smile and calm and confident attitude, "Clay. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Ghetsis, of Team Plasma. I've come to pick up my associates who are in your care."

Clay snorted and sneered at the robed man defensively. "I don't need no thanks, now. Yer buddies were tryin' to steal folks' pokémon."

Ghetsis raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "What's this? It seems as if there has been some misunderstanding. We only free pokémon from wicked people," he said rather condescendingly.

"Well that sounds real nice," Clay growled, "if it's true. I may not talk purty, but at least I'm an honest man. You talk real nice, but what yer sayin' sounds like lyin'. So tell me plain, what are ya tryin' to say?"

Ghetsis paused, realizing that Clay was near as dumb as he'd taken him for. Instead of a pretty argument, Ghetsis changed the situation entirely. "Team Plasma also has an interest in Driftveil City. And we have many, many more members besides those who are here…"

"… Well, I can't tell if yer lyin' or not, but I reckon you've won this without a fight. Hrrmph. Fine. Take 'em and git!"

Ghetsis smiled pleasantly. "A decision worthy of a business man called the Miner King. Your grasp of the situation is outstanding. Well then, we will be taking our colleagues off your hands…" He gestured for his men to come, and the knights circled around Ghetsis with the sage nervously.

"Ghetsis… Thank you very much…"

"Don't worry, my fellow servant of the king… We are two of the Seven Sages, are we not? Well then, everyone, I expect that we will meet again somewhere."

With measured stride, he walked past Hilda and Cheren with his crew with the utmost regality. Hilda glared daggers at the man's back as he passed.

Ghetsis felt the deadly stare, but ignored it. Zinzolin fidgeted as they walked. "I am… Very sorry. This was not supposed to happen."

"I told you, Zinzolin, you have no reason to worry. While we may have been thwarted this time, there is always another try. I don't think we'll find anything here anyway. There is another way to the Relic Castle and the Underground Ruins."

"Of course… I am just sorry to have disappointed you, sir. My loyalty is strong, I am simply not," Zinzolin tried.

Ghetsis glanced at him for a moment. "Noted…" He came to a slow stop in the street and waited patiently for N. Within moments, the boy ran up to him.

"Ghetsis… I-"

"My king, I would suggest we not waste time," Ghetsis stated, cutting off any fast ramblings the boy could have said.

"Of course. What…"

"I suggest you go to Route 6 and Chargestone Cave next. The Shadow Triad are there waiting for you," Ghetsis answered to N's unsure question.

N brightened up. "Of course! But… What about that girl, Hilda? I… Think she will be my rival, the hero of truth!"

"Then I think you should get moving along so you don't get beaten by her for the umpteenth time," Ghetsis suggested flatly. "I will take the grunts back to the Desert Resort to find that Dark Stone."

"Okay! Thank you, Ghetsis! You have been so helpful to me," N said gratefully before running off, oblivious to the way Ghetsis treated him since he had always treated him that way. As far as N was concerned, it was Ghetsis' way of showing affection.

"Sir, shall I head up the efforts in the Desert Resort?" Zinzolin offered.

"I have Ryoku waiting in Castelia for my signal. But you are very kind for offering. Your loyalty serves us well," Ghetsis answered, his voice marked with a level of impatience. Zinzolin picked up on Ghetsis's mild irritation and fell into silence as they crossed the bridge.

Ghetsis retreated to the sanctuary of his thoughts; the only place he was free from the brainless fools he put up with on a daily basis. He ignored the youngster capering about in bright orange, didn't give pause to the pretty blonde girl, and for a moment, he thought nothing of seeing a man in long, black coat.

Then he paused as he realized what exactly he had seen. It wasn't just a black coat, it was a black coat torn with boney spikes and a hat with bat wing for a brim.

He whipped around in time to see the demonic figure that the media had dubbed 'Shira' as short for Re_shira_m, the dragon of fire and truth, throw all of his knights off the bridge and into the water with what was either a psychic blast or from control of wind itself. Ghetsis grabbed a pokéball from his belt beneath the robe. As he did, Shira turned to look at him and Ghetsis realized that what people had said was true; its face reflected everything around it, but it had form, so the reflection was grotesquely twisted.

In a bright flash, Ghetsis's cofagrigus appeared and readied itself for battle. Ghetsis watched Shira closely and saw the brief hesitation. "Stop that thing, whatever it takes!"

Without hesitation, the shadowy arms of the mummy-like pokémon reached out and wrapped around Shira and started pulling it in. Shira struggled in the grip of the pokémon. Taking shelter behind his pokémon, Ghetsis just caught a glimpse of the mask breaking and the human face beneath.

_It's an illusion? It's just a man!? … But how?!_

A burst of flames ignited from a source that was not Shira, but beside him, scorching the ghost pokémon first before blasting it, Ghetsis, and even Zinzolin back with a telekinetic force unlike any Ghetsis had ever seen. It sent him to the other side the bridge a good two meters back.

_What? What the hell did he just do? _Dazed, Ghetsis still managed to get his only good arm beneath him to look up and see the man, who had conned the world into thinking him a Hell-send roll and scared off over a third of Ghetsis's men, roll over the edge of the bridge.

Ghetsis scrambled up, hearing the splash below. Looking down, there were only white ripples from the disturbed water and a bright flash as Shira was teleported away.

"Ghetsis! Ghetsis, what the hell was that thing? Was that _Shira_?!"

"No," he began, "He's just a very clever… Very smart conman and a master over a force I have never seen before... But he is human which means he bleeds and he dies just like any other man... Dying being something that should befall him soon," Ghetsis growled in foul temper.

* * *

**AN:** Yeeahp... No comment on this one. I've got nothing to say... No witty commentary today, kiddos. Although, I was talking with DAT about my new story ideas based off my Nuzlockes and we are pretty certain that you will like them as well. They will be the typical Pokemon quest story without the typical Pokemon quest in it.

Thank you to my beta a friend, **DarkAngelTorchic!**

**And thank you for reading and reviewing, if you are so kind!**


	12. Chapter 12

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

"What do you think the meeting's about?" one knight whispered to her companion, gesturing in the conference room where two of the members were present.

The other woman snuck a quick look at the room that was tense with malice. "I don't know… I don't care. None of our business."

"I know but…"

"Curiosity is going to get you killed. Our job is just to stand guard here so no one other than Ghetsis goes in."

Hurried footsteps were heard down the hall. "Speak of the devil…" one muttered under her breath.

Ghetsis came into view shortly, adjusting his neatly pressed shirt. "Stand nearby in case I need you and make sure no one enters now," he said, addressing the two women curtly before closing the door behind him.

Cyrus raised his eyebrows. "You're late…"

Ghetsis sighed heavily. "I am sorry… I met with some… Trouble. Turns out Clay is rather adept in the means of arresting our men and I had to rescue them."

"Your little toy soldiers are that important to you?" Cyrus asked flatly.

Ghetsis flicked his red eyes in Cyrus's direction. "No, but one of the sages is a different matter. And he was a loyal one." Cyrus shrugged and both men turned their attention to the woman sitting quietly, staring at her laptop screen with papers spread out around.

Ghetsis approached her carefully and laid a gentle hand on her tense shoulder. "Melanie… What did you find out?"

She sighed heavily. "Not now, Gareth… We'll get there. First, I believe that you have several snags in your master plan so let's start there."

Gareth shrugged. "Alright… It turns out that a young trainer is getting in our way quite frequently, not that such a thing should surprise anyone."

Cyrus laughed dryly. "Ah… So true. There is always one trainer in particular getting in the way."

"Difference here being that when we succeed, which we will, she will have to release her pokémon in accordance with the new world," Gareth stated simply. "So… Is she bothersome? Yes. But this is a snag that will work itself out in the end."

"And the police?"

Gareth shook his head. "They certainly don't like us, but there's not a whole lot they can do since we have such a large number on our side."

"What about that… What were they calling that thing? Shira?" Cyrus asked.

"Second reason why I was late. Shira just so happened to be in the Driftveil area as well," Gareth answered calmly.

Madame looked up at him sharply. "Shira? You… What happened?"

"He threw my men off the bridge before I released my cofagrigus."

"And? Did you kill it?" Cyrus asked, as close to excited as he could get.

"No… But I can tell you right now that Shira is not a demon sent from Hell to collect our souls as suppressed gossip goes. Shira is just a conman... However brilliant."

"How do you know that?" Madame asked him.

"His 'mask' is just an illusion cast by a pokémon, I'm assuming. On contact, it breaks. Sadly, I didn't get a good look at his face and no news reporters were on site so there is no camera to see who it was."

Cyrus rubbed his chin. "So… What kind of pokémon does he have? It must be partially psychic, right?"

"It can teleport and release_ very _strong psychic blasts, so I'm assuming mainly psychic."

In their conversing, they missed Melanie's eyes flash and she pulled out a paper and read it, muttering to herself.

"The pokémon also has some very strong fire-type moves… Darmanitan?" Gareth thought aloud.

Cyrus thought it over more, trying to remember what he'd read about the region's pokémon. "Isn't there a little… Oh, what was it… Victini?"

"Yeah… Maybe. But it also has very good control of air as well. As good as any flying type," Gareth pointed out.

Cyrus sighed. "Okay… Then let's focus on psychic… Wait, didn't it destroy a road too? Doesn't that make it rock or ground?"

Gareth shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I haven't even seen this thing. Whatever it is, it can hide itself somehow."

"How? I've never heard of an invisible power!"

Melanie set the paper down and pulled on the corners of her eyes with an irritated sigh. "Gareth… When the mask disappeared, _how_ did it disappear?"

"What do you mean?"

Melanie folded her hands. "I mean, what did it do? How did the illusion break? Describe what happened to me as best as you can."

Gareth narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what the point to it was and trying to remember back to the bridge. "It… On contact it disappeared… With sort of a smoke."

"Was the smoke pink?" Melanie asked flatly.

"It may have been… Wh- Oh… Dream mist… Of course! But the only pokémon that can use that is musharna."

Melanie shook her head. "No… No it's not the only pokémon. Gareth, hon, think about it. No rebellious force against us is complete without our mutual friend the thief."

Gareth's eyes widened. "Arceus… It was! But how?"

"He has a mew, courtesy of Giovanni. A mew can do all those things as well as make itself invisible if it wanted to. That's how he does all that. He's been playing us… Actually… No, that can wait a bit longer. Did you kill him?"

Gareth shook his head sadly. "No… Had I known, I would have."

"Actually, dear, I'm glad you didn't," Melanie answered with an odd expression on her face.

Cyrus stared at her with open confusion. "What makes you say that? Didn't we agree to kill him?"

"That was before I knew… Oh, where to even start?" She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Cyrus and Gareth exchanged glances before Gareth pulled up a chair beside her. He rubbed her shoulders for a few moments before letting his hand slide down her back. She looked at him for a few moments, and he gave her a reassuring smile.

"I… We've been played. From the very beginning. Though… Me more than you."

"Played how and by whom?"

Melanie shook her head with another heavy sigh. "That bastard son of mine, for starters."

Gareth gaped at her. "Giovanni? I thought he was an idiot…?"

"So did I… However it turns out he got some of his dear mum's intelligence after all. But that's beside the point, I looked into the old records at the Guild," she said holding a file up, "He really did have two kids… Both boys. Michael and-"

"Let me guess; Sam?" Cyrus interrupted flatly.

"No. No, no. His name was Nathan," Melanie returned.

Gareth stared at her, his face perplexed. "So… What? They changed his name?"

"No. Nathan is dead, you killed him. Nathan, five years old, died with the rest of his family almost two decades ago. Gravestone is located, and I had a spy check, in a cemetery in Kanto between his mother and brother," Melanie stated coolly.

"How is that possible? We… Is it really just a coincidence then?" Cyrus asked.

Gareth narrowed his eyes. "Is there actually a body in that coffin?"

"Oh yes. I had my spy check. A very young boy was buried there," Melanie answered.

Gareth slumped back in his chair. "So… We're wrong. He's just… A remarkable coincidence."

"That's what I thought as well… Until I checked _his_ record and that's where things got so very interesting," Melanie answered. Cyrus and Gareth stared at her expectantly. "He has no digital record. It's all so vague and almost nothing is filled in. It really doesn't exist."

"Well, I think we can agree that there is indeed a thief named Sam and he is very much alive," Cyrus stated with raised eyebrows.

Melanie smiled and held up a finger. "Precisely. His record is _only_ on paper and it was very well hidden away… It took her awhile, but one of my spies was able to send it to me. According to the file, he first appeared on the Guild's radar as a sort of pickpocket at a very young age. Then he comes up as a rather talented young trainer who beats Gym Leaders repeatedly so he can sell the badges to less worthy trainers."

"Then why the hell is he bothering us?! Shouldn't he be in a Gym or League then?" Cyrus asked exasperated.

"I don't know. He's been offered dozens of times and he always turns them down. I would say it's because he prefers stealing. He's stolen an untold amount of money already and he _never spends it_. It just gathers dust in some unknown location. There's no point, so it's obviously because he simply enjoys it… But then there's the question; why is he, a thief and raider, the Guild's favorite soldier then?" Melanie finished with the prompting question.

Cyrus stared at her blankly, barely following. Gareth leaned back in his chair. "Arceus… Because of Giovanni."

"Yes! Giovanni _knew_. He was trusted and committed _solely_ to the Guild. He was never on Team Rocket's side. He purposefully obliterated us." Melanie turned to Cyrus to explain. "My family has always run a crime syndicate. We used to be called the Brotherhood. When the Guild had my father killed, the reins were turned over to a man named Don. I married him to take Team Rocket back and suffered through one child with him… Which is perhaps my greatest regret at this time."

She paused for a moment before dismissing it and moving on, "Giovanni, once I had to hand over the throne according to Don's will, renamed the organization 'Team Rocket' apparently to be funny and irritate me so I would leave and he could do as he pleased. It worked. I left and he proceeded to bring Team Rocket to public notice and the Guild's and flaunted that there was a mole in the Guild to further irritate them into coming after Team Rocket."

"Okay…"

"The Guild sent him, Sam, to investigate this threat. It started off very benign and innocent. It says, on this record, he was always fairly capable with a blade, but he never used this talent hurt anyone. He was a very nice young man… But that doesn't help the Guild. So, to make him a useful soldier for the Guild, Giovanni took a pokémon that was very important to Sam to see if revenge could bring out a killer because that is what the Guild rather needed if they were going to fight me, which Giovanni knew was coming."

"I'm guessing it worked," Cyrus remarked flatly, thinking back to Sinnoh.

"Oh, it more than worked. It was made clear to everyone who was considering it that if there was one thing you didn't want to do, it was to piss him off because he will not rest until you are _obliterated_."

"… All right then. But… I still don't quite understand. If Nathan died, then what is the connection to Sam? What is the point of all this?"

She flipped open the file. "Because according to this, Sam has always lived in Hoenn after being orphaned. No known relatives or parents not even a real birth certificate… Left with a Mr. Briney on the coast of Petalsburg."

Cyrus shrugged. "Okay…"

Gareth stared at her for a moment and then started laughing. "Really? Ha! That's… Oh, that's kind of adorable really."

"Isn't it? Of course, no one even knew he was there until he was five," Melanie quoted mockingly.

Cyrus eyed the two. "What… Is so funny?"

Gareth shook his head. "Oh, if only you knew. To say the least, that is utterly impossible and so… Odd. I don't even know why they… Oh. No, actually I do. That's… Cold. I mean, it was a good choice for what they were trying to achieve, but still… I don't know that I would go that far. There was no guarantee that he'd even leave that place alive."

Melanie shrugged. "I wondered why myself… So I dug just a bit further. It wasn't necessarily the Guild's decision. It was His will," she said as she dug out a piece of paper from the copied file. "In the event of my death, I leave my surviving son-"

Gareth sat up immediately. "Wait, what? Is that really what it says? Did he _know_ he was going to be killed and that one of his sons would be left alive?"

Melanie shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me if he knew the details of his death. That man was..." her voice trailed off.

"Well, whatever. What does this will say?" Cyrus asked completely confused and very curious.

"Yes… In the event of my death… I leave either or both surviving sons in the care of their grandfather, Drake to someday be passed on to the Guild to finish the work that I started and take down the Brotherhood. No one is to know of his survival. Bury another boy in his place and keep his existence secret. Do not call him by the same name; don't risk the Brotherhood finding out. I know they have people in our ranks… … Blah, blah, blah, use their middle names, it would be easiest that way because the name would already be familiar to them… And he is never to know the truth."

Finished reading, she laid the paper down and eyed her compatriots. "So… Gentlemen, what do you think of that?"

Gareth shook his head slowly in disbelief. "I can't even…"

"Who is this guy anyway?" Cyrus asked.

"His name was Eli… Elijah Hawkins," Gareth stated in answer before turning to Melanie. "What do you want to do about Sam then?"

"Kill him. Who cares who he is, right?" Cyrus tried.

Gareth shrugged. "I agree with Cyrus, I'd rather just take him out of the picture."

Melanie paused, resting her chin in her hands as she thought. "… No."

"No?!" Cyrus repeated, shocked. "Are you kidding me? After everything he's done?!"

Gareth eyed her carefully. "Why not?"

Melanie ran a hand through her thick mass of black curls, a whimsical smile coming to her face. "No… I have a far, far better idea. One that won't get any incriminating blood on our hands and unlocks _so_ many doors."

* * *

The police headquarters were frighteningly silent and somber as the elevator rose to the tenth floor, the base of all police operations. The commissioner stood resolute in the middle of the floor, exhaling a deep breath through the nose into his thick, silver mustache. Janice stood beside him with her team and on the opposite side was team Alpha, the leading man ignoring her presence as he usually did. With a high-pitched beep, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, revealing the two vastly important people within and their escort.

"Commissioner Rodgers, I presume?" the woman said as she strode up to him and shook his hand in a businesslike fashion.

He nodded. "The International Police Force's help is greatly appreciated in this matter.

"Of course, sir. We appreciate you taking the initiative," the woman returned, removing the sunglasses from her nose and siding them into the pocket of her suit jacket.

In stark contrast with the pale, intimidating woman was a handsome older man in a maroon suit and tan overcoat. "Allow us to introduce ourselves… My name… Ah, no. While police you are, my name I cannot reveal. I shall inform you only of my code name. My code name, it is Looker. It is what they call me."

The woman nodded. "I am Shamus. I believe that Castelia City is in great danger, so let's not waste time."

Commissioner Rodgers stepped aside and gestured to his office. "Yes, we'll get right to the facts."

Not ten minutes later, the beautiful, pale Shamus stepped out of the office. "I want all squads out in the streets right now. We have received word that Team Plasma is trying to get to Dragonspiral Tower. If we want to catch the man or monster or whatever hunting Team Plasma, the moment is now! I want you to investigate every home, every person and arrest any criminal you find, any Plasma member, and anyone you think is even vaguely suspicious. I am authorizing that this city be purged."

* * *

Annette walked into her own condo, returning from an afternoon's shopping. "Cat! You cheated! You're totally cheating!"

She eyed Sam and Cat sitting on her couch, shaking her head. "Sam, sweetheart, this is why you don't teach such games to your pokémon."

Sam turned around and grinned at her. "Oh, you missed it. I taught them _all_ how to play hide and seek while you were gone."

"Yes, well, you can tell me all about it while you help me with the groceries," Annette answered.

Sam jumped up quickly and picked up several of the bags at once. "Well, Diana is the best at hiding, but she takes being found very, very badly. It's not pretty. Sarhan never gets to a proper spot because he doesn't want to damage anything with his blades. Hercules… Words cannot describe. He about has a heart attack every time he's found and him trying to find them is hilarious."

Annette laughed just picturing it. "Oh dear… I'll admit, that sounds adorable. What about Patch?"

"Patch is a killjoy and refuses to play," Sam told her with an accusing tone directed at Patch.

"_Izzn plae agin?" _Cat asked excitedly, overhearing repeated references to her favorite game.

"Eeh… Sure. You go hide and I will come find you. Starting now!"

Cat leapt off the couch with a joyful squeak and the stampede of little pokémon could be heard easily as the six ran off. Annette looked up at the ceiling with an amused expression. "They could definitely be better…"

"They're terrible, but it's fun anyway," Sam said with a lighthearted grin and a chuckle.

Annette eyed him curiously. "You are incredibly… happy today. Why?"

"No reason," Sam answered, still with the grin.

Annette eyed him suspiciously. "You went out last night…"

Sam laughed. "That has nothing to do with it. I've done that several times, Annette."

"Well… What is it then?"

"I don't know… Good day, I guess," he answered. Annette still gave him a suspicious look, but let it go with a shrug. Their light conversation was interrupted as Patch jumped up suddenly and started snarling at the door.

Sam turned around to stare at the defensive pokémon. "Patch… What are you doing?"

Annette shrugged and started walking over to the door as whoever was outside started knocking. "Unova Police, we have a warrant and we are authorized to enter this house."

Sam froze. "Annette… Cat and Michael are still running around! If they find them-"

She gave him a sympathetic look. "Sam… There's nothing I can do right now. They're hiding, they might not find them. It's the police! If you try to get them now, they'll be suspicious and think we're hiding something and then you'll really be in trouble."

* * *

**AN:** I know after this one you guys will have questions and feel free to ask. I'll answer accordingly, but somethings you just have to wait to be clarified.

Big thank you to my beta, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

**Thank you for reviewing and have a wonderful Friday!**


	13. Chapter 13

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

"Miss Reagan… And Samuel Reagan, is it?" the brawny police officer asked, looking at the old widow and the alleged grandson condescendingly. "Nice day for some good ol' fashioned detective work, isn't it?"

Sam said nothing back, not wanting to antagonize the officer and trying not to show any outward signs of panic as he thought of all the worst-case scenarios of Cat and/or Michael being found. Annette answered him with a scowl. "A very fine day indeed… For you to get out of my house and not ruin a pleasant afternoon for us."

The officer laughed. "Oh, I have heard stories about you, Miss Reagan, and let me tell you right now, any signs of interfering with us, and I'll have you thrown in prison."

Annette glared at him, but he ignored her, looking to Sam instead. "You better keep her under control, buddy," he warned.

"Nana…"

She looked back at Sam, and he gestured for her to come to his side. With one final death glare at the big officer in front of her, she went to him. "How long do you think it would take the rest of the police to find out if we killed them?" she muttered to him darkly as she watched the rest of the man's squadron stomp into her house.

Sam smiled a little bit. "They'd know in a heartbeat."

Annette looked at him sympathetically and reached out to hold his hand. "I am sorry… But they would have suspected something if you would have done anything,"

"I know… It's not your fault," he answered, squeezing her hand back.

"All the same…"

"You, watch them! The rest of you with me, we'll search every nook and cranny of this house," the captain barked. One baby-faced officer stood a safe distance from them with is pistol at ready, apparently their baby-sitter.

Annette eyed the officer, while Sam figured out a means to get rid of the man quickly should worst come to worst. "Sam… Did you remember to take care of the laundry?" Annette asked casually.

"Of course. Picked up, cleaned up, and put away."

"Oh, good boy!"

"Did you think I'd forget?" Sam asked, sounding a little offended.

"I was just asking… I didn't say that at all," Annette answered. The police officer stared at them, completely ignoring their conversation.

Sam gave her a look before withdrawing to silence. _Cat never stays in her hiding spot. Arceus… What if she thinks it's me and runs right up to them? What if she knows they're the enemy and attacks them?_

"Did you see the kids playing hide and seek earlier today?" she asked him suddenly. "I thought it was very sweet. Those neighborhood darlings are so cute."

"Yeah… Katy still hasn't figured out that she should stay in one spot though and kept leaping out at the seeker," Sam answered.

"Aw… Well, she'll figure it out. Katy is a smart girl."

"Yeah…"

Seeing no change in the grim look on his face, Annette thought of something else. "Michael is such a smart boy and those two get along so well. I bet he'd help her."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe… I don't know. He's dozed off while hiding before."

An officer ran back down the stairs and pointed at Sam. "You! You're a trainer, right?"

"Yes…"

"What pokémon do you have?"

"A deino, pawniard, golett, and an audino. They're free in the house right now," Sam answered calmly.

The officer nodded and ran back upstairs. Suddenly, it dawned on Sam that Patch had not been growling, snarling, or attacking these imposers. In fact, he didn't even see the pokémon. _Did he run off? Where did he go?_

"Hey… You know, while I was watching them play, I noticed that Michael had lost that toy of his… That really worn-out, _patched_ up stuffed animal… Did he lose it?"

It took Annette a few moments to catch the hidden message and after she resisted the urge to look. "Oh! You're right… I don't know. I didn't even notice until you said something. I wonder what happened."

"Me too…"

They could hear the heavy footsteps and the house being upturned. Annette swore under her breath, "If they break anything…"

Sam gave her a look with a ghost of a smile. Annette watched the clock impatiently, counting off the minutes. "Fifteen minutes… Arceus how long does it take to search a house?"

The officer watching them shrugged. "Not long usually… There's a lot of ground to cover so…"

Annette's lips pursed together with irritation. They all jumped as they heard a scream of pain upstairs. Annette and the baby-faced officer were very alarmed, Sam paled significantly.

"Arceus…" _Was it Cat? Patch? Michael?_

"Arceus damn it! Get it off!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying!"

Sam listened intently and heard Diana growling. A wave of relief rushed over him. It wasn't exactly a good thing that Diana was attacking an officer, but it was better than Cat or Michael.

A few minutes later, and the squad of police were back downstairs, the captain nursing a bloodied arm with an accusing glare at Sam.

"Did you find anything?" Annette asked condescendingly.

"No," he growled back. "This house has been cleared. But mark my words, if I ever hear of someone getting bit by a deino in this area, you're going to get your license revoked, do you understand me?"

Sam nodded calmly and the officer with his squadron walked outside leaving the door wide open. Annette ran over to it and closed it, muttering and cursing the officers for everything they were worth. When she turned around, Sam was already gone.

He stepped over a fallen Hercules at the top of the stairs and ignored Sarhan. Diana was sitting in the middle of the hall, licking the blood off her chops. "Cat?" Sam called out.

Michael suddenly appeared in front of him and started floating up the stairs, all the way to the rooftop where Cat was playing with her toes happily as Patch guarded the door back down stairs.

"Cat… Arceus," he breathed, laughing. Cat ran up to him and pounced on him for a hug.

"_Maikal sade tah haide 'ere a'caus no on'd fiend me 'ere!" _she told him excitedly. _"An sade he'd bee on dey loookaught!"_

"Is that so? … Well, it's good that they were looking out for you, huh?"

_"Deed ai ween?_"

Sam grinned. "Yeah, Cat, you won." He picked her up and carried her back inside down to the kitchen, where Annette was. As he descended the stairs he heard a phone ringing and looked at Annette questioningly. "What is that?"

She was obviously shocked by the sound, and ran to a nearby end table and pulled out an odd device. "Who could possibly have this number?"

"Hello?"

Sam paused as her face changed to pure confusion and she looked at him. "It's… For you."

He accepted the cell phone that looked like the prototype of a cross-transceiver, "Yeah?"

"I-it's, it's me, Adyran…"

"Adyran? … How did you get this number?"

"There's… Th-th-there's no t-time. T-t-team Plasma is g-g-g-going to b-break into… Going t-to break into Dragonspiral T-Tower. M-meet me at t-the p-park. I-I-I'll s-show you t-the w-way out of the city," Adyran told him before hanging up with a click.

Sam took the phone away from his ear and stared at it with confusion before sharing a bewildered look with Annette. "Well… What was that about?" she asked.

"I guess I need to go…" he answered with a shrug.

"Go where?"

"The park, I guess… I'll take my pokémon with me and… I guess I'll see you later," he answered, recalling his pokémon to their pokéballs except for Michael and grabbing his bag.

Annette shook her head. "Alright… Ask whoever that was how he got the number to my old cell phone while you're there," she told him as she hugged him.

"I will," he promised.

"Alright, go on. And stay safe! The police are still out there, so you better be careful!" she warned.

Sam grinned at her. "I've got Michael, so no worries. I'll check with Peter and make sure they're okay before and to see if there's anything I can do about Grimsley so I don't have to leave the city twice."

* * *

Peter sat at his desk, his wrinkled head resting in his old hands as he sighed wearily. The city was on its way to hell now; it was no secret that the International Police had come to the aid of the Unovan Police and more specifically, the Castelia City PD.

Vera stood before him, having already hid as much of their incriminating equipment as possible. "Peter… What do you want to do?"

He looked up. "Vera… There's nothing we can do. We did the best we could with what we had… I am neither ashamed nor afraid to go to jail. Let them come. We will surrender."

Vera bit her lip nervously and sat fidgeting on the couch as she heard the door several floors below burst open. "What about Sam?"

"He's with Annette and she has been hiding in plain sight for years- I'm sure he's fine," Peter answered calmly as the troop was heard coming up the stairs.

Vera closed her eyes and released a calming breath. In less than a minute the door to the office was broken down and the captain of alpha squad had his gun pointed at Peter.

"Peter Luther…"

"I am."

"You are accused of harboring criminals in this house, being one yourself. You are also accused of being the leader of an organized crime ring here. Will you give us the names of your employees?" the captain asked, not lowering his gun on the man.

"I am guilty of what you accuse," Peter confessed. "But I will not sell the names of my brothers to you. Would you like me to stand?"

"No… You're fine where you are," he answered. "The Police Department has voted that you be killed."

The gunshot sounded and Peter Luther slumped in his chair lifelessly, blood and brain matter exploding from his head. Vera couldn't help a scream.

The captain maneuvered so he could see her clearly. "Stand up, Miss Vera."

She did slowly, and he raised his gun so it was aimed securely at her forehead. Another gunshot rang.

Vera gasped and tears of shock ran from her eyes as the police captain fell to the ground. Sam walked in the room, holding the pistol in his gloved hands.

"Oh, thank Arceus…" she sobbed, running to embrace him.

"Don't thank him yet. C'mon, we've got to get out of this city," Sam told her, hugging her close, eyeing Peter's body with a measure of sadness. "Vera… Please. I need you to get it together for right now."

She nodded, reigning in her need to cry. "I know… I know. I'm okay. Let's go," she said shakily.

Michael appeared and perched on Sam's shoulder and teleported them to the park. Adyran was quick to appear. Wordlessly, the boy walked over to what looked like and really was a sewer grate.

"H-hurry," was all he said as he himself disappeared down into the old tunnels. Sam and Vera were less than pleased by this turn but were quick to get over it, and even quicker to take cover inside as a squadron started coming in. Sam pulled the grate closed and Michael melted it so it couldn't be opened again so easily.

He climbed all the way down the ladder to the cement pathway. "Alright, Adyran… You still haven't told me why I'm here."

Adyran looked at him, blushed, and looked away. "I-I-I, I n-n-know that y-you're fighting T-Team Plasm-m, Team Plasma. A-and that y-y-you're w-with t-the, the Guild."

Sam's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"I-I-I wa-was hired t-t-to help T-Team Plas, Team Plasma b-build a v-v-virus to st-st-steal p-p-pokémon from the PC's at a-all the C-Center," Adyran confessed. "I-I-I was h-hired by the w-w-woman you s-s-said was the b-b-boss of T-Team Rrrrocket and sss-Cyrus."

"You mean to tell me that she has formed an alliance with Cyrus _and _Team Plasma?" Adyran nodded. Sam leaned against the wall and shook his head slowly. "Well… That's just great."

"W-we ha-ha-have t-to go t-to the dr-Dragonspiral t-Tower s-sso they d-d-don't bring b-b-back zzzzz-Zekrom."

"They found the Dark Stone?" Vera asked nervously, getting a nod from Adyran before he started walking down the passage with confidence, clearly knowing where he was going.

Sam started to follow but stopped as Vera hesitated. He put an arm around her, drawing her close to kiss her gently on the lips. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She teared up, thinking of Peter's execution. "Y-yeah… I will be. Let's just get through this." Sam kissed her on the forehead and kept his arm around her as they walked through the sewers, following Adyran who guided them to a long path that would lead to the desert. Sam turned around and gestured for Michael to destroy the opening to the path they had just walked into.

"Sam, what-?"

"We have to make sure no one can follow us. Come on, we don't have a lot of time to waste."

Adyran nodded, and picked up the pace, but keeping Vera and her heels in mind. Sand started filling the tunnel, revealing that they were getting close to the outside and that it let out in the desert. Soon, they were standing on the edge of the tunnel that reached let out from the face off a canyon a mile off the ground.

"Arceus…" Vera cursed and backed away from the edge. Adyran looked to Sam for ideas.

"The Dragonspiral Tower… How far away is it?" Sam asked.

Vera answered him. "It's out in Icirrus City."

"I've only been to Driftveil…" he mused, looking at Michael, who shook his head, signifying that he shouldn't or couldn't teleport the three of them to Driftveil. "We'll have to fly there. Adyran, do you have a pokémon that can fly?"

Adyran nodded hesitantly and pulled out a pokéball as Michael transformed into articuno. Vera stared at the beautiful ice pokémon.

"Wow… Why do all the regions but Unova have such beautiful and terrifying pokémon?" Vera remarked, trying to hide her slight fear of heights as she climbed up on the bird's back.

Adyran in turn released a cheerful blue blob that copied the already artificial bird's DNA and transformed into a slightly discolored one.

Sam and Michael both gave the ditto an approving glance before taking the fall and rising to the sky. Luckily, no one in the town saw the two large bird pokémon fly over their town. Adyran, who had been to Icirrus City, led the way. They chose their landing spot in the snow-covered city carefully.

"C-c-come on…" Adyran encouraged. Vera scowled at the snow in general with her thin leather boots on; even worse, it was deep where they were. Sam shared her general dismay, so Michael walked in front of them and melted the snow in their path. Once they got out of the deep snow, Adyran started running, motioning for them to follow quickly up the stairs, past the Pokémon Center, the Gym, and to a gap in the heavily forested area that opened up to the lake that the Dragonspiral Tower rose out of.

The tower was old and impressive, with pillars lining where the original path was. Now a modern steel ramp had broken into the Tower, defiling it.

Adyran looked up to the top where lighting clouds were gathering, Sam followed his gaze. "Well… Let's just hope that we're not too late. Vera, you can stay here," Sam offered.

Vera rubbed her calves. "Yeah… I think I will. Just don't take too long."

Sam gave her a quick salute, left his bag with her, and ran into the tower with Adyran.

* * *

By the time Adyran reached the top, Sam had been there for a while, having far outmatched Adyran in athletic ability. He never hesitated when taking a jump and never made a mistake while Adyran needed to take some breaks and carefully plan out what he was going to do. Sam stood in the sunlight streaming in through the massive hole in the wall Zekrom had apparently broken though before they even got there.

"We missed them… They were already gone," Sam stated. Adyran cursed between his heavy breaths, worn out. Sam eyed him quietly. "Adyran… What now?"

"Th-th-they'll g-g, they'll go to the p-p-Pokémon League. They w-w-want to mmm-make N champion."

Sam nodded. "Alright… But what happens after that?" Adyran looked at him without understanding. "What are _you_ going to do?" Sam clarified.

Adyran started stammering something, but Sam interrupted him. "You were hired to help them and I'm guessing it's because you're one of the best at what you do. You've betrayed them now so you can't go back to them and they're the ones who brought you here. But Unova isn't safe for you anymore either, so… What are you going to do next?"

"I-I… I don't know," he admitted, blushing.

Sam seemed to be contemplating something for a moment. "I am going back to the Guild as soon as I can call them in and I am taking Annette with me and Vera, if I can convince her… … And you can come with me too, if you'll agree to help me when I need you."

Adyran looked at him with open surprise for a moment before nodding. "Okay…"

Sam smiled at him. "Not that you really had a choice, given the circumstances, but I'm glad. I could use someone like you on my side… Though Matt will probably be furious and accuse me of cheating on him… Again."

Adyran gave him a strange look. Sam waved it off dismissively. "Don't worry about it. He'll live. Now we should go, we told Vera she wouldn't have to wait long."

"W-wh-why… Not ask mmm, ask me to just join t-t-the Guild?" Adyran asked, confused.

Sam looked back at him. "You don't want to do that. You would not enjoy that, trust me, and someone of your skill… They'd never let you leave for anything. Now, seriously, we should go." Sam turned around and started walking to go back through the tower. Adyran's blush deepened and he smiled to himself before following happily.

* * *

Sam looked out the window of the small hotel room his money and veteran trainer guise had bought them in Opelucid City. It wasn't easy traveling and he and his two companions were exhausted, but it was worth it in the end. Adyran had his own room but he and Vera were sharing. For the last several hours, she had been holding the need to cry. The sound of running water stopped in the bathroom and Vera walked out, tossing aside a towel after drying her face.

She plopped on the couch and wrapped her arms around herself with a heavy sigh. Sam walked over and sat down beside her without a word, just putting a comforting hand on her shoulders.

She glanced at him for a short moment before looking back at the floor with a dry giggle. "Oh, Arceus… What a day, huh?"

"It started off nice," Sam admitted.

"Yeah? Well, it sure as hell didn't stay that way," she remarked, brushing her long purple hair behind her ears, before clasping her hands in front of her lips to stop them from trembling and closing her eyes.

Sam pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. Almost instantly, her composure broke. "He surrendered! He surrendered peacefully! He wasn't going to fight, wasn't causing any trouble and that… That bastard _shot _him!"

"I know… I know. I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner."

Vera could do little more than sob into his shoulder with a rather tight hold around him as he held her gently for a while. Finally, she pulled away just a little bit to wipe off her eyes, which were red and swollen now. "Sam… It's not your fault," she finally said.

"Yeah? … It's not yours either," he answered, giving her a small, sympathetic smile.

Vera raised her eyebrows and laughed a little bit. "It doesn't feel that way."

"Mm… 'There's something I could have done' feeling, huh? It's over with, Vera. There was nothing you could have done; they were going to kill you too."

She looked at his face searchingly. "I… Thank you for saving me."

"Of course," he answered dismissively.

She managed a small smile. "You know… For being an ass most of the time, you can be awfully sweet."

Sam flashed a charming smile. "I try… But you can't tell anyone that. It would mess with my whole reputation."

"Of course. How awful would that be?" Vera teased with an eye roll, laughing a little bit as a few rogue tears rolled down her face.

Sam turned her face towards him gently and kissed her on the lips softly. "Vera… I want you to leave Unova with me."

Vera stared at him, her purple eyes filled with confusion. "What?"

"It's too dangerous for you stay in Unova… I'm asking you to come back to the Guild with me."

"But… But I have to stay here! I'm supposed to take over for-"

Sam took a deep breath. _How to break this to her…_ "Vera…"

He could see her start to break again in her eyes. "Sam… No."

"According to the newsfeed, they caught over thirty criminals today. Whoever's left won't want to stand up to them anymore- not after this. And if you stay, they'll find you and kill you too."

Vera was obviously torn. Sam reached out and held her hand and waited for her answer patiently. She looked back at him and nodded slowly. "Okay… Okay. I just have one question; would you have asked me to come with you if it hadn't turned out this way?"

Sam paused and grimaced. "Well… Probably not," he admitted.

"I see…" Vera started coldly before grinning. "Then I'll go with you… Since you were honest with me _and_ because I actually really love you right now."

He raised his eyebrows. "You make it sound like I'm not your favorite person all the time," he returned with a slightly offended tone.

"Let's be fair, you're much more charming when you aren't being an ass to people," Vera returned.

Sam paused before waving the comment away dismissively like a pestering fly. "It's possible, I suppose."

* * *

**AN:** So I've been a horrible person and I really haven't been responding to any reviews for the last, like, three weeks... Or so. I just thought that I'd let you know that I do read them all and I really and seriously do appreciate that you take the time to leave them. Last week I had quite a bit of anxiety as well as a serious lack of motivation to do anything... Which leads me to telling you that if I don't respond to your review to this chapter Saturday, I probably won't (or you didn't leave a review for me to respond to).

The ever lovely and adorable Adyran belongs to **Cloud of Swirling Storm**!

Big thank you to my also ever lovely beta and good friend, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

**Thank you for reading and for the review (if you choose to leave one)!**


	14. Chapter 14

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Alder looked at the blank faces of his co-workers, looking for any kind of reaction. They stood in the center of the ancient tile floor, sand from the Relic Castle still falling from the folds of his poncho. Finally, Caitlin yawned. "Well, it's about time you came back."

Alder smiled at the sassy, blunt teenager that had come to the region from Sinnoh. "I missed you too, Caitlin.

She waved him off, yawning again. "I'm going back to bed."

Shauntal hugged her writing journal close to her chest and teared up as she looked on the weathered face of the reigning champion. She opened up the journal and started reading from it. "'His eyes reflecting the pain of his broken heart, he left them, not seeing the hurt in their eyes as they wished him well and a safe return someday.' That's… Part of a novel I wrote," she told him, her lower lip trembling.

Alder extended his arms for a hug. "I'm back now… And I'm sorry for leaving. I just needed some time to recover."

Shauntal ran up and embraced the large man, looking tiny in comparison. Grimsley rocked on his heels, whistling awkwardly until Shauntal released Alder from the bear hug.

"Man oh man… The ol' boss came back. If you're here, that can only mean one thing- it's time for me to get back to work. When is the challenger going to get here?"

Alder snorted. "Eeh. I did not come back just because a challenger was coming… I came back because that challenger is threatening to separate pokémon from humans, and he's already well on his way to succeeding."

"Well, I suppose win one, lose one. I was close enough," Grimsley remarked easily.

Marshal cut into their banter. "How strong is he?"

"He has Zekrom on his side. I'm afraid that we're going to be hard-pressed to fight back. I'm also guessing that not long after him, Hilda will probably show up."

"Zekrom!" Marshal repeated, shocked. "How did that happen?!"

Grimsley eyed the large man with raised eyebrows. "Were you really not aware? Marshal, it's been all over the news. As well as the Shira thing, but they're saying that was a hoax now since no one's really heard of him since."

Marshal looked at the floor quietly, obviously confused about what or who Shira was. Grimsley sighed heavily. "Tsk, tsk, Marshal. You really should pay more attention."

Alder laid a hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "It's okay, Marshal. I'm glad that you weren't wasting time watching TV. I'm sure you were busy actually doing something."

Marshal cracked his knuckles with a grin. "Yes, sir, I was."

Grimsley shrugged. Alder shook his head as he walked past to go the Champion's room. "You should get ready," was all he said as he left them with a warm smile and a wave.

Marshal returned to his room obediently, but Grimsley decided that he didn't feel like preparing. "So, what novel are you writing now?" he asked Shauntal.

She glanced at him. "What?"

"Novel. I'm actually prompting you to talk about it."

"Why?"

Grimsley shrugged. "I don't know… Because that's something you like talking about."

"Grimsley… Alder asked us to prepare, not sit around and talk," Shauntal returned, but wasn't making a move to just walk away.

"So? Who cares what Alder says? We've got time."

Shauntal started to say something back, before pausing. "Oh no… Are you here to challenge us?!" she squeaked, unprepared.

N nodded arrogantly. "I am here to put my ideals to the test. Prepare yourself for the coming of a new world. You are the first- all things in order. Left to right."

Shauntal and Grimsley exchanged glances and walked to their rooms calmly as N followed Shauntal to her quarters. _Here we go…_

With a heavy sigh, Grimsley flopped on his leather couch and picked at a loose thread, musing to himself about how much he _didn't_ want to work and how much he _really_ wanted to go to the casino.

Grimsley could feel the battle through the floor and hear it through the walls just next door. _The kid must be giving Shauntal hell… Yeesh. I'm going to lose then… But it will be okay because everyone else will too!_

Humming to himself, he let himself slide off the leather couch with a plop, pulled out a deck of cards from under the cushions, and proceeded to lay out a game of Pyramid. It was a hard game to win and he owed himself over a thousand dollars in betting with himself, but it was still fun. One game lost and the sounds of battle in Shauntal's room paused as she let out a new pokémon… Or at least he assumed it would be her.

Three games lost and another pokémon had fallen. Grimsley laid out the cards again and played through another five games as Shauntal was giving her all with her last pokémon. "Not near as much fun as beating Ingo at darts," Grimsley muttered to himself.

"Now there's an idea…" Grimsley looked around his room, making sure no one was behind him and poking his head up over the desk to make sure no one was walking in, he crawled off the carpet and pulled up a tile in his floor to take out the old cell phone and prototype of the current cross-transceiver.

He got as far as grabbing the cell phone before a slightly dirty loafer covered his hand and prevented him from removing it. Grimsley looked up slowly at the veteran trainer, then to the door, and around his room. "Hello…"

"Hello, Grimsley," he returned, letting his foot up enough that Grimsley could get his hand free.

Grimsley eyed him suspiciously for a few moments before he recognized him with a relieved snicker. "I'm going to be honest, I wasn't expecting you," Grimsley told him.

"Well… That was kinda the point. I'm assuming you remember me?"

"Yeah… Sss… Sam? Was it?" Grimsley tried.

Sam nodded. "You may also remember that I'm with the Guild."

Grimsley narrowed his eyes suspiciously and shrugged weakly. "Yeah… So? Are you threatening me or something?"

"I just need to borrow that," Sam stated easily with a nod at the cell phone.

Grimsley shrugged. "Sure… I guess. You'll bring it back right?"

Sam picked up the phone and pocketed it. "Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me." He turned on his heel and walked back towards the door and found himself looking at N, who had just walked in. They both paused.

"N…"

The boy looked unsure of what to do. "I am here to challenge the Elite Four and become Champion… My ideals against his. If I win, then it means that my ideals are true and people and pokémon must be separated," he spouted off quickly.

"Mm… What do your ideals say about a dagger to the heart?" Sam asked flatly.

N swallowed hard. "Ideally not…"

"You remember that when it comes time for your ideals to face reality," Sam growled before shoving past him roughly. He pulled out the phone and contemplated the best spot to go to make this call where other people couldn't listen in. By chance, he looked to his left and saw Hilda walking into Shauntal's room. Luckily for him, she didn't notice him. Behind him, N was already fighting Grimsley.

Knowing that a challenger wouldn't be able to go outside again until they won, that's where he started heading. _Well… I suppose if the champion can't take care of that brat, Hilda certainly can_.

Despite the wintery grasp taking over the region as fall gave way, the League was surrounded with a summery heat that came with being just off a desert. Sam leaned against the great red rocks that surrounded it and dialed in his number. It rang five times before he got a hesitant answer.

"...Hello?"

"Hey, Riles. What's up?" Sam said casually.

"… Sam? Perfect timing! Thank Arceus… I was starting to get a little worried."

"Oh. Well, I'm touched. Now, why do I have perfect timing?"

"Drake is in the area. We were hoping that you'd make contact soon, so I sent him out," Riley explained.

"I'm not going to lie, that's more of perfect timing on your part," Sam admitted, trying to figure out how to get through another day without getting caught.

"I'm guessing… That you made the police angry?" Riley asked flatly, not amused.

"I wouldn't say that… … They have no idea who I am. Two out of three of my current identities have pissed them off," Sam explained. "No big deal… Yet. But that's besides the point, I'm guessing no one important is trying to kill me anymore?"

"I… Oh, whatever. No, I don't think you're in danger anymore. There hasn't been a trace of Cyrus and things seem to have quieted down a lot."

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that it's very quiet. Riles, that is usually a very bad thing," Sam warned.

"I know. That's why I really need you to come back. I'm getting the sense that they're preparing something big and I am definitely going to need your help."

"Of course. I'm guessing Drake will be at the Castelia Pier?"

"Yes, tonight, so be ready."

"Yeah, yeah… Hey, Riles… have you ever heard of a man by the name 'Varric'?" Sam asked.

"Varric? … It sounds familiar. Why?"

"According to someone here, Varric was with us for some time before he d-… Disappeared."

He heard Riley start typing and assumed it was for the name. "I guess I'll check into that for you… Why are you asking?"

"Well, I found… Actually no, his wife found me."

"… Okay then. Uh… As far as Varric goes, there's not much here other than, yes, he was with us, yes, he disappeared, and he also worked with Drake. Huh."

"So it's true…" Sam muttered to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing, Riles. I'll see you later. Oh! And tell Steven I said to quit worrying."

"Tell him yourself," Riley answered. "He went with Drake in case you did call. Him and Matt both, actually. Now, I have to go."

Sam stared at the disconnected phone after Riley hung up. "Huh… I wonder how well Steven is getting along on a ship."

* * *

**Castelia City Police Headquarters:**

"Captain Rodgers… Officers Mark Ayers and Harry Barlow… Sit," the cold, intimidating woman known as Shamus commanded. Sitting beside her was her partner, Looker, who was far nicer to look at. Sitting with them as well was the commissioner himself.

Janice took a seat across from Shamus, being the bravest of the bunch, Mark sat closest to her father, the commissioner, and Harry sat between them.

Shamus nodded to the officer at the door and he closed it as she looked at them with a measure of approval. "You three have been called here because you know more about whom we are dealing with than anyone else. That said; let me tell you right now that I have looked into all of you… For one of you, more than you'd probably prefer," she said pointedly at Harry who slouched into his chair meekly.

"Mr. Barlow, if you should utter one disrespectful phrase in my general direction, you will be thrown out of this room. And I don't mean shown to the door politely; I will pick you up and throw you right through that door. Am I clear?"

Harry swallowed hard and nodded. Shamus moved on from the threat quickly and went straight to business. "I went through your report regarding the Pier Street Gang incident outside Nuvema Town and I have to say that I'm impressed. Upon reading this, my partner and I came to the same conclusion as you; that it was one man."

"A fine observation, it was, ma'am. Quite remarkable, you are," Looker told Janice with a sagely nod.

"Thank you, sir…" Janice said hesitantly, not sure what to make of him… Or Shamus for that matter.

"I also agree with your postulation that the same man who did that also stole the Dragonbone for Team Plasma," Shamus continued. "However, I am disappointed to find that you did not go further than that. You are a smart young woman, after all."

Janice stared at her blankly. "I'm sorry?"

"It is not a matter of apologies. This man, after arriving in Castelia, as you noted, just suddenly stopped causing trouble? … No. No, I think he was in Nuvema Town in the first place because he can't stay _out_ of trouble. Then to stay in a city like this… He did not merely change into a good citizen."

"So, what are you proposing?" Mark asked carefully.

"I am proposing, based off the evidence that Shira likely emerged from Castelia City, that he is Shira. I don't know how he manages such a feat of superhuman powers, but I am almost certain that Shira is just a guise."

"A guise?" Harry repeated in disbelief. Shamus gave him a sharp look, so he corrected his outburst. "Sorry, but… That's hard a little hard to believe. Shira looked pretty real to me."

"But that Shira is a demon, you will believe?" Looker asked.

Harry shrugged. "Given the circumstances and what it was capable of… It sounds pretty reasonable to me."

"Well, it is not reasonable enough for us. Plus, we received a report that Shira was on the Driftveil Drawbridge, and before that a veteran trainer found and aided Clay in capturing some Plasma knights."

"Do we have his name then?" Mark asked, leaning forward as the conversation became increasingly more interesting

Shamus nodded. "He introduced himself as Sam." She looked that the three officers carefully but didn't see the reaction that she wanted. "We believe that he is Samuel Reagan, a veteran trainer who supposed returned to Castelia after traveling and is currently staying with his grandmother, Annette Reagan."

All three officers paled with surprise. "Are you sure about that?" Janice asked.

"Positive."

"Well that… That can't be," Janice said, defending the polite, charming man she'd met.

"You know him?" Shamus asked coldly.

"I… Yes, ma'am. After traveling through the region, he went back and is currently staying with his grandmother. He came from the area out west," Janice explained, repeating what he had told her. Shamus was unmoved by the story. "We investigated their house. There was nothing there."

"Really?"

"Yes… And in the recent investigation of the city to root out criminals, the house was cleared again. I read the report. There's nothing to incriminate him."

Shamus leaned on the table, eyeing Janice quietly. "Because he's obviously very smart. You filed a description of the man who went into Castelia and supposedly did not come back out and he matches it."

Janice slumped a bit, realizing the truth in that respect. "But… If that's true, then why would he use his own name? And why not change his appearance?"

"Yeah… Why does he keep showing up exactly the same? Maybe this guy in Driftveil was an imposter or something," Mark tried, siding with Janice.

"Perhaps… Except that he matched the description perfectly. It was almost certainly the same man you met," Shamus stated calmly, no emotion in her beautiful, pale face.

"True, it is. Clay believed so as well," Looker assured them grimly.

Shamus folded her hands on the table. "And there is another matter that I believe he had a hand in, but have no way to prove… Everyone in your top squad was murdered while investigating the house of a mister Peter Luther."

"No…" Janice breathed.

"They were sent there to execute Mr. Luther because that man was leading a _very_ organized group of criminals along with his apprentice, a young woman named Vera Mathis."

"Purple hair and eyes, she has," Looker told them, knowing that they would probably put the name to the ever-occurring face.

"Yes. She was supposed to be executed as well, but she was not found. Someone disarmed one of the officers and used it to kill the others. We did not find the missing gun, so it's very possible that they still have it."

"Which means, that we either have an angry woman with a gun or a _very_ dangerous man with a gun and we have no idea what he'll use it for," the commissioner added wearily, already hearing the tale once before.

"Or both. We have many recorded sightings of the two meeting up. It's safe to say what they were romantically involved with each other. The two may have been in this together. It's hard to say. Once we capture him, we'll know."

Janice slumped in her chair quietly. "I… I don't understand. What does that have to do with us then? I don't know how to help you."

"You're here because you are the new Alpha squad," her father answered. "We'll go through the formalities later. As it is, you are expected here as our most talented force and because you have been investigating this matter all along."

"Congratulations!" Looker said. "But, however… However, but… We must get back to business. Where will Shira strike next?"

Janice thought it over, pushing her think golden hair out of her tan face. "Uh… He goes wherever Team Plasma is, right? So… We just need to find them."

Shamus nodded. "Excellent observation. However, Team Plasma is not so easy to predict either. They have claimed a few times that their goal was to have N claim a position of power by challenging the Champion-"

"Thus Champion, N would become," Looker said, interrupting.

"But we have absolutely no record of this boy challenging the Gym Leaders and he can't get into the League without them. So, if you were them, what would you do?"

Janice and Mark sighed heavily almost simultaneously, stuck in the belief that a badge was the only way in. Harry stared at the ceiling for a moment, before asking. "Well, doesn't this N kid have Zekrom now?"

Shamus flipped through the papers. "It does appear so. Several witnesses saw Zekrom emerge from the Dragonspiral Tower after Team Plasma broke into it. Alder reported later that it was indeed the case… Also mentioning that Lenora had an idea about how to resurrect Reshiram for Hilda so she could be evenly matched with N."

Harry shrugged. "Well, there's your answer."

Shamus narrowed her eyes. "Use your words, Mr. Barlow."

"Yes, Harry. Speak. _Please_," the commissioner said flatly, staring at his less than favorite officer.

Harry looked at them all. "Seriously? … I know something you guys don't? Wow… That never happens. Stupid, no-good Harry is useful now, eh?"

Shamus's glare sharpened. "Mr. Barlow, speak now, or I will use force to make you."

"Hang on, I just want to savor the moment… Wow, okay. This kid has Zekrom, a legendary dragon. If I were him, I'd say 'screw you' and go challenge the League with or without the doorman's blessing."

Shamus pulled out her cell phone immediately. "This is a detective from the International Police Force. I need to know if there is anyone challenging the League right now."

After a few moments Shamus snapped her cell phone shut and gave Harry a mildly approving look. "It seems Mr. Barlow was right… N, by all means, broke into the League. It is also very clear that the young Miss Hilda is there as well and a young boy named Cheren is on his way."

"Which means that it's only a matter of time before that Shira character shows up," the commissioner added with a small smile of satisfaction.

"And I will not allow him to get away. I will be mobilizing your forces immediately. Once I have him, I will take him back here for interrogation," Shamus announced standing up and offering her hand to Janice, who stood and shook it politely. "Thank you for your help, Alpha Squad Captain, Janice Rodgers. We appreciate it. You're dismissed now, all of you."

Not questioning her orders, all four stood and left. Looker eyed Shamus. "Told them all, you did not," he remarked.

Shamus shook her head. "They only need to know so much. We have the warrant for his arrest already and we will carry out the questioning."

"And if wrong, we are?" Looker asked. "Coincidence, it could be."

"I don't believe in coincidences. We'll arrest him, give him the chance to admit to his crimes… And if he does, offer a deal of information regarding who he must be working for in exchange for a lighter sentence…"

"And if refuses, he does?"

Shamus loaded her pistol. "Then his trial will end with a death sentence as he is _far_ too dangerous to be allowed free."

* * *

**AN:** Hahaha... Well, it's late. Sorry guys. Fun chapter though, right? Good ol' Riles, Harry who me and DAT have decided is the policeman version of Sam, Shamus, Looker, and another threat hanging over Sam's head even though he doesn't know it yet... I have more fun with this than I should.

Also... It needs to be said that I have effectively lost most of my motivation to work on GSTA so it will end either in this arc or some super short 3 chapter deal. I'm not entirely sure yet, but that's what you have to look forward to for this. Which isn't to say that I don't love GSTA, but it's high time to move on and the new story I am working on is just... It'll be awesome. I am so flipping excited to share it with you all that I can hardly contain myself (or convince myself to sit and write GSTA, lol).

Any mcflying pants, I promise to respond to all reviews this week. I just was in a serious motivational rut recently and I was not responding very quickly to anyone. We're good now! Ah! And another sidenote, in the last chapter of GSTA, I'm going to include the story of how Sam and GSTA was born for kicks and giggles.

Big ol' thank you to my super beta and friend, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

**And thank you lovely people for reading this insane ramble, but more importantly, for reading GSTA at all! **


	15. Chapter 15

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Cyrus sat alone in a room offered up to him by Ghetsis, clicking a pen distractedly as he scanned the pages of research before him about the legendary pokémon in the Unova area and others. At Melanie's request, he was to formulate a plan of his own: one that wouldn't fail and one with a purpose; to weaken if not destroy the Guild. She had prompted him to be creative, but he had ended up coming back to legendary pokémon.

At a knock on the doorway, Cyrus looked up and saw the middle-aged man with red eyes. Cyrus leaned back further in his chair. "Ghetsis… Or, rather, Gareth, what can I help you with?"

Gareth raised his eyebrows. "Well, I was informed that you are curious about the nature of my plans and the purpose of this castle, so I thought I would explain it to you."

Cyrus looked at the papers and slowly got up. "Of course," he answered with a tired sigh, following Gareth out.

"Yes, I've heard that Melanie is putting you to the test."

"The test for what?" Cyrus asked, confused.

Gareth raised his eyebrows. "She's not yet told you? … Hm."

Cyrus narrowed his eyes. "Yes, well… She doesn't explain her thoughts to me very often. I just know that I'm supposed to think of a new plan… Without following in my old footsteps."

Gareth shrugged. "Because your last plan was to just bring dangerous legendary pokémon into the world without regard for their power and then figure out what to do with them afterwards. That is why she is making you plan right now. We need to be sure that you can handle the world we will be giving you."

Cyrus furrowed his brow as he tried to make sense of what he was saying. "So… What is _your _plan?"

Gareth paused in front the stream that ran alongside the hall. "My overall plan is to take this region… But people resent being taken by force, so I will do so as peacefully as I can using N as my puppet."

Cyrus nodded with some understanding. "Alright… I suppose you've accomplished that, but why not just take the region by force? So what if people don't like it?"

Gareth sighed, as if talking to a little kid. "Let me explain the nature of this world to you first… In case you didn't notice, there is no ruling force on these people. Not here, not in any region. The Gym Leaders… They have some control, but they don't exercise it. They used to be the government here, but they got lazy and people resented their power because they kept getting replaced so often. What common folk don't realize is that they _need_ government. They need to be ruled or society's animalistic qualities will destroy itself. The rich will continue to take care of themselves and the poor will complain about how miserable their lives are and expect copious amounts of charity… That is where the Guild comes in. And it is also why they are our greatest enemy."

Cyrus nodded, following his words fairly well as Gareth continued. "Think of it like this; you want to be king… But there's already a king. So what do you do?"

"Kill the king," Cyrus answered automatically.

Gareth shrugged. "Well yes and no- all you need to do is remove him from the throne. This can be easily done… Sometimes. The problem with the Guild is that they are SO ingrained into society with very well-loved members."

"Like Steven Stone," Cyrus observed dryly.

"Very much like Steven. The public may not know that the Guild exists or what it does, but they would know if we destroyed the Guild because the important members would have to be killed. Therefore, the Guild is a well-loved king, and you seek to replace him. So then what do you do?"

Cyrus shrugged, at a loss for words. "I wasn't aware that it made a difference. You still kill him."

Gareth shook his head with a chuckle. "Hardly. To take down a well-loved king and them replace him with… People of our caliber, we have to be delicate or we risk upsetting the balance."

"Okay… But what does the Guild even do?"

"Ah, they fill in the holes left by the lack of a ruling figure, as I said earlier. You see, only the government, or at the least, a mayor can make laws, commission the rebuilding of a destroyed town or dilapidated building, and maintain at least some sort of balance between rich and poor. So, hundreds and hundreds of years later, society as we know it should be long since dead and gone."

"So… That's how you knew about the Guild," Cyrus assumed.

"Yes. I figured that there was a variable missing from this world, and from there it was easy to figure out the nature of the benevolent force guiding the world. Of course, I would prefer, as would most people of higher social status or in want of higher social status, that we go back to an actual government… One run by me, to be more specific," Gareth explained, looking at Cyrus occasionally to make sure that he was not too lost.

"You see, the Guild works to maintain balance and equality… But obviously, we are not _all _equal and people need to learn their place in society. People are poor because they do nothing to deserve money. Let them rot in their own filth if that is what they want to do with their life. The rich have money because they are intelligent and skilled enough to earn it. But the Guild… They steal money from the rich to give to the poor for the sake of keeping them happy at the expense of the rich. Which is most unfair, if you ask me," Gareth said with disgust.

"I can't say it matters to me. I've always hovered in the middle class," Cyrus admitted emotionlessly. "All I want is full control over Sinnoh to create my own world."

Gareth shrugged. "Fair enough, I suppose."

"So… What is your plan to overthrow them?" Cyrus asked, leading Gareth back on track.

"Ah… Yes. To rule successfully, with few hitches, you need several factors in your favor, one of which is public favor. If the public loves you, they are likely to do whatever you say. However, they are also likely to walk all over you because they aren't scared of you."

"So… To be gain power easily, you must be loved and feared," Cyrus guessed hesitantly.

"Yes. But since it is so difficult to be both, it is often wiser to be feared that loved… But then, of course, you're usually hated," Gareth stated with a heavy sigh. "The Guild, sadly, being a mysterious and faceless enemy has managed to attain both. They are loved, and yet, with some of their members and their reputable habit of killing off those who oppose the balance they keep, they are feared by their enemies. It is what makes them very, very hard to compete with."

"So… Your current plan… You're using N as a means to be loved… And Zekrom to be feared?"

"Precisely. I'm experimenting. I want to see how far I can get with such an approach and here, in Unova where the Guild can't interfere, it's easier to see," Gareth answered with a smirk.

"And here I thought that all this was simple," Cyrus grumbled.

"Ha! _Simple_?" Gareth repeated, laughing. "Oh, Cyrus, you have much to learn. Life is never simple."

"So… Why the castle then?" Cyrus asked, looking around the beautiful palace.

"As a display of wealth and power… My family has long sought to overthrow the Guild. This castle is a challenge to them as a symbol of personal wealth against their equality for all."

"But… it's underground where no one can see it," Cyrus pointed out.

Gareth grinned. "For now. In about… Oh, ten minutes or so, that will all change. This castle has been in progress for sixty years, built by employing a pokémon workforce, of course. But before it, a huge trench was dug into the earth and then, to cover up what he was doing, my grandfather built huge steel doors that, when we're ready, will open and the platforms this castle sits on will rise."

"You must have some pretty powerful technology then," Cyrus mused aloud.

"Incredibly powerful. And it does work, I've checked," Gareth answered, proudly.

"So… What happens if they stop N?" Cyrus asked carefully.

"Well… It would be unfortunate, but I already have a plan B," Gareth explained. "There is another dragon; Kyurem, of the ice type. Should this fail, which I admit, it might, I will use Kyurem to freeze this unsuspecting region."

Cyrus stared at him. "How is that going to help?"

"Hm? Oh, of course. I have a large stock hold of provisions for a much colder environment that these people will need if they wish to survive. Of course, in exchange for this food and other necessities, they will first hand over their pokémon and then they'll be forced to swear their loyalty to me," Gareth explained with a smirk.

Cyrus raised his eyebrows. "Nice."

"I admit, I wouldn't be opposed to using this plan either way… Now, I've probably used enough of your time. You should finish the project Melanie has set you on," Gareth said, clapping Cyrus on the shoulder as he walked away.

Cyrus stood looking at his refection in the pure water of the stream for just a second before a question came to mind. "Gareth? … If you want order and I want my own perfect world… What does Melanie want?"

Gareth stared at him for a few seconds before smiling sadly. "That's something you should ask her yourself," he answered before walking away to tend to his plan.

Cyrus lingered in the hall a little longer before returning to his room to finish his thoughts before he dared confront Melanie about why she was in this. He'd heard the hatred in her voice when she spoke of Eli Hawkins and saw the fear in her eyes at the prospect of him still being alive. Whatever her reasoning was, it was definitely soaked in blood.

* * *

Cyrus knocked politely on the door before entering the room set aside for her and Gareth… Actually, it was a whole wing of the castle. "Madame…?" he called out hesitantly. Seeing or hearing no sign of her, he thought that perhaps she had left and turned around to see her standing directly behind him.

"Hello, Cyrus… What brings you here?" she greeted as she walked past him.

He regained his composure quickly. "I believe that I may have… an idea. It involves legendary pokémon."

"I told you not to repeat patterns of behavior," Melanie warned.

Cyrus held back a grimace. "I know… But I don't think that I did."

She turned around and eyed him. "Go on, then."

"When it comes to legendary pokémon, I have noticed that some are definitely more powerful than others and some have no real power to speak of at all," Cyrus explained.

"And?"

"And I think that those are the pokémon we want to focus on. There are a lot of pokémon with apocalyptic powers and there are a select few with… Odd abilities. Like Registeel, for example. This pokémon is made entirely of steel. That's all there is to it."

Melanie shrugged. "Okay."

"But… It's not just steel- it's a material that doesn't rust, doesn't break, and won't even scratch. If we got a sample of that or could figure out what it's made of, we could build with it. Walls that can never be broken! And it's easier to find and catch than something like… Zekrom, for example."

Melanie nodded slowly, narrowing her eyes. "Tell me what else you found."

"Latias is a pokémon that can control reflections to make itself invisible. If we figured out a way to replicate that, the possibilities are endless. Manaphy is a benevolent pokémon that can bond instantaneously with any other pokémon. With it on our side, we could get any pokémon to help us without any special technology or scheme. And there's a pokémon called Meloetta that can control the feelings of those who hear its melody. We could manipulate people into be scared of something or loving something else. We can make co-workers angry at each other and dissolve a group by turning them against each other… All small pokémon, all fairly easy to find and catch," Cyrus finished with a smirk.

"I see… Not too bad, Cyrus. It's achievable, logical, and _useful_," she surmised. "You've come a long way."

"I'm not done yet," Cyrus interrupted. "There's also a pokémon called Celebi. You've probably heard of it."

"The forest guardian. What of the stupid little fairy?" she asked flatly.

"It's not just a forest guardian. It is said to have the power to travel across time. You could go back in time and change the outcome of events. Prevent our greatest enemies from ever being born… And no one would even know but us," Cyrus explained, smirking. "We would be unstoppable!"

Melanie stared at him for a few moments before her face broke into a grin. "Now, Cyrus, that's the kind of thinking I like to hear."

"One hitch- Celebi is quite a bit harder to track down. But, it can't be too much harder to find than the lake trio in Sinnoh. If nothing else, we can just burn the forest down," Cyrus mused.

"Well then, I propose you work on those theories when we return to base in Johto. I will assign you a team of your own men to take care of these matters… … Good work, Cyrus," she said, turning her back on him as a sign of dismissal.

"Ah… One question, if I may."

"What?"

"I know why I'm trying to overthrow the Guild, and I know why Gareth is… But why are you here?" Cyrus asked hesitantly.

Melanie paused, her crimson eyes narrowed. "Because I want revenge. I told you that they killed my father, didn't I?"

"Well, yes, but what does Eli have to do with it?"

"You want to hear the story do you? … Fine," she said, turning her back to him again to look out at the wasteland below. "When I was seven years old, my father was approached by a boy, older than I, saying that he wanted to help. He said he had information about the Guild that he was willing to share… For a price."

"What price?" Cyrus asked, unthinkingly.

"Their lives. He had let in another assassin, his mentor, as I later found out. But they spared me… Brought me back to the Guild with them… That's how I knew who the old Thief Lord was. They tried to raise me to be one of theirs, taught me how to be an assassin… They thought that was loyal to them… … You should have seen the looks on their faces when they realized that they raised not a soldier, but a monster. Once I felt I had learned enough, I killed as many of them as I could and left," she told him emotionlessly.

Cyrus nodded slowly, though she couldn't see him, knowing full well that she was not telling him the whole truth but smart enough not to pursue it. Instead he got up and left, leaving Melanie to her past.

"_Clark… There's a girl here," he had called back to his mentor before looking back down at her with the coldest black eyes she'd ever seen._

_The older man came into sight quickly. In comparison to the boy, his face was nice. "Ah… Poor girl… Come here, miss."_

"_Shouldn't we kill her?"_

_Clark sighed. "There is no reason to kill her. She's just a girl. Look at her… You'll be okay, don't mind him." She was scared, but hesitantly, she took that man's hand and let him put a jacket over her trembling form._

_The boy scowled at her darkly. Clark elbowed him off. "Look, just go make sure there's no else here, alright, Eli?"_

"_Whatever…" As he walked away, he looked back at her with cold eyes, like he knew what she was going to do and muttered under his breath, "if you won't kill her, than I will."_

Melanie closed her eyes and released a calming breath.

_It wasn't long after that day when she decided to take their lessons so that she could turn it all against them all… But she avoided Him like the plague. He was only four years older than her, but already he was better than most others. He was an assassin at a monstrous level._

"_Miss Melanie," the old Thief Lord had said, his blue eyes rather kind. "I know you've come along way with your training. We think it's time that you started on your very own missions… Of course, we'll send a senior agent with you at first."_

"_Of course," she had answered, thinking about that she was getting close to being able to leave… And she knew how beautiful she was. She could charm anyone she wanted, including whoever was assigned as her mentor. It was an exciting development until her mentor walked into the room._

"_Eli, you're late," their shared boss said, disapprovingly._

_Eli clasped his hands behind his back, recently washed of blood, but the stains remained. "I apologize… I was busy." That was all he said- that was all he ever said about it._

"_I'm sure you two know each other. Mela-"_

_He turned his cold black eyes to here with disgust clear on his face. "Melanie Monrose, the spawn of our enemies. I know who she is."_

"_Eli… She is with us now. Her heritage doesn't matter."_

_His eyes had narrowed even further. She tried to give him her most charming and innocent face, but it was lost on him. He only looked more irritated. Never had she felt like her life was in so much danger. She did not put it past him at that moment to kill her had he been given the opportunity._

_They were both dismissed from his office with the final words, "I expect great things from the two of you."_

Melanie shivered out of a sudden chill just thinking back to him; the only monster she had ever known… The man who had taught her how to be a monster herself.

The alarm started blaring through the castle as a warning before it rose to the surface to be seen by all.

"Eli… I hope you can see this from Hell because I'm about to take your special little 'plan' and obliterate it. Your only surviving son is about to come to _my_ side," she growled at the unseen demon that haunted her.

* * *

"Here you go, Grimsley… Returned as promised," Sam said, putting the cell back in the odd man's hand.

"Thank you very much! If I can… Could I trouble you for a card game? I'm getting bored playing by myself," Grimsley asked, holding out his deck of cards.

Sam looked at the deck and back at Grimsley, obviously conflicted. "I shouldn't… … But hell, when has that ever stopped me? One game."

"YES! No bets though… Ingo is my only source of income and I'd like to stay out of debt."

"Fair enough."

Shauntal wandered in with her journal. "Hey… Hey! What are you two doing?!"

"We're just playing a game… Blackjack?"

"I don't care," Sam answered casually, ignoring the mildly horrified Shauntal.

She looked around the room for a few minutes before plopping on the floor with them. "Deal me a hand."

"Really?"

Shauntal shrugged. "Well… Just this once."

"That's what everyone says," Sam remarked. "Actually… That's seriously what everyone says. I said it too and I'm probably going to play more than one game anyway."

Shauntal picked up her cards and grimaced, knowing that her random motley of low-ranking cards probably weren't fantastic. Sam's face did not change until he caught sight her face and couldn't resist a smirk.

"Bad hand?"

"Yeah… … Hey! Tha- EEK! What's going on?!"

The game of cards fell neglected as a huge tremor through the earth threw Shauntal back. Sam looked up at the chandelier to search for any sign of a cave-in before dropping his cards when the tremor didn't stop and just became more and more violent.

"Earthquake?" Shauntal questioned, frazzled.

Grimsley picked up Sam's dropped cards. "Ooh! I win! … Sam, where are you going?"

Sam ignored them and ran outside where he could see. _They've clearly never had an earthquake… And right after N has challenged Alder? This is not a coincidence._

Outside, he turned around and looked up at the old building, seeing the lightning flash repeatedly across the sky and a huge castle rise straight out of the ground and then loose steel ramps into the League's back.

"What…?"

During a lull of the thunder following the lightning, he heard a hail of little clicks on either side of him that was unmistakable after being shot. He looked right and left and found himself almost completely surrounded on either side by police officers armed with pistols.

Sam put his hands up. "No need to use those… I surrender!"

Some of the officers exchanged glances, and a few lowered their pistols a little bit. From the circle, a pale woman in a black suit strode forward and up to him. "You must be Samuel Reagan…"

"Yeah? … Have I done something wrong?" he asked innocently.

"You are suspected in the murder of two young men off Nuvema Town as well as the assault of four others, the theft of the Dragonbone Skull from the Nacrene City Museum, the role of Shira, and the murder of several of Unova's finest police officers," she told him coldly, but with a self-satisfied smirk.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think _I _did all that?"

"We'll get there. But a confession from you is all we need."

"So… You're not arresting me," Sam clarified.

"No. We're bringing you in for questioning, but if you resist, we'll just skip that part and assume you're guilty."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Do I look like I'm resisting? Please, let's go… The sooner we get this straightened out, the sooner I can go home, Arceus."

"Or to prison," she corrected with a quiet growl.

"Or prison," he conceded, "but only if I'm guilty… Which I have done absolutely nothing wrong." …_ Today, anyway._

* * *

The police headquarters were an unforgiving place for most and very intimidating for anyone brought in for questioning. Considering the crimes he was being accused of, Sam was completely relaxed, leaning back in his chair in an interrogation room with his feet propped up on the table. His coat had been taken to be searched and he taken his cap off to twirl it around his fingers distractedly.

The grey door of the room opened and the two detectives sat down. Sam recognized the woman from earlier. "Good afternoon! I was wondering when you'd come," he greeted politely with a charming smile.

She frowned at him, dropping a stack of files down on the table, but returned the greeting, "Good afternoon to you as well… I am International Police Force operative, Detective Shamus, and this is my partner, Looker."

"I'd say it's nice to meet you both… But given the circumstances… Maybe afterwards. You know, sometime when you're not trying to arrest me."

"Mr. Reagan… If that's even your name, I would like nothing more than to throw you in prison right now, no questions asked, but I am inclined to follow protocol so let's get right to business," Shamus said, trying to kill the light-hearted mood.

"Of course, anything I can do to steer you in the right direction," Sam answered pleasantly, removing his feet from the table to prop up both elbows and rest his chin in his hands like what they were going to tell him was anything new or exciting.

Shamus eyed him disapprovingly. "Are you familiar with the Pier Street Gang?"

"Who the what now?"

"The Pier Street Gang," Shamus repeated.

Sam shook his head after taking a few moments to think it over. "No… Can't say that I've ever heard of them… But I actively try to avoid getting involved with gangs for obvious reasons."

Shamus paused. "I suppose it doesn't really matter… Do you know this young man?" she asked, sliding over a picture of the leader of the Pier Street Gang, watching his face carefully and seeing the small flash of recognition. _Go ahead, lie…_

"Oh… Yeah, I've seen him before…"

"Where and when?" Shamus asked, thinking that she had him.

Sam laid the picture back down and said casually, "He tried to mug me when while I was in Castelia once… About a year ago. What happened to him?"

"He's dead. Along with one other boy in his gang. The rest were just badly beaten," Shamus explained, showing him pictures of the crime scene watching his face the whole time. "We've determined that one man took all of them down."

"Very dangerous, this man is," Looker added sagely.

Sam flipped through the pictures, giving each one a good look as if he were assessing it. "Hmm… I think you're right about one person doing this… And they are certainly very dangerous," he remarked, handing the file back to Shamus. "But what makes you think that I'm capable of something like that?"

Shamus pointed at his face, more specifically, at the scars. "You've been in a fight before… And I'm guessing those aren't the only scars you have."

He touched the scars on his face gently. "I see… So what you're saying is that anyone with a scar must be a criminal?"

"It implies you've been in a fight," she stated.

"Or someone attacked you because you were weak and couldn't stand up for yourself," he answered with a small shrug. "Scars don't mean anything… Other than someone got hurt once."

Looker bowed his head slightly and nudged Shamus, prompting her let that subject go.

"Fine… Scars out of the picture, I am still accusing you of murder and assault. Do you have anything to say in defense to that?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. You can't charge me with murder," Sam stated calmly.

"And why not?"

"Because… These two young men were not murdered. All you can charge me with is involuntary manslaughter… Which I am still innocent, for the record… Though if you cared, I wouldn't be here."

"What makes you think that this was 'involuntary' manslaughter?"

Sam gestured at the file. "It's all in there. You said it yourself: the person who did that was very dangerous… So why did he only kill two? If he _was_ trying to kill those kids, they'd probably _all_ be dead. Which means that the two that died were… Simply out of his control."

Shamus scowled while she struggled to find words. "I suppose you have a point there, Mr. Reagan… Thank you for your input. Do you have anything else you'd like to add?"

"No. You're welcome, by the way," he answered, smiling pleasantly. "What's the next charge?"

"Stealing the Dragonbone Skull… I'm guessing you're going to tell me that you didn't do that either," she said dryly.

Sam shrugged. "From what I heard, that was the theft of the century. No one even saw the person do it. If you ask me, I think you're looking for the Shadow Triad on that one. They're the only… Creatures capable of something like that."

Shamus tossed the file aside. "Excellent observation. I won't bother asking how you plea."

"Innocent," he said. "Anyway, I believe that you also suspect me of being a scary, fiery demon pokémon that roamed around to take Team Plasma's souls… So let's talk about that."

"Mr. Reagan, I-"

Sam waved her off. "No, no. Enough of the 'Mr. Reagan' crap. Just call me Sam, I insist."

Shamus paused and stared at him. "Mr. Reagan, I would appreciate you taking this more seriously."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Take this seriously? I take not going to prison very seriously, but these charges are ridiculous."

"They are very, very serious charges."

"No they aren't. You don't actually _have_ any evidence, or you would be presenting it. You're fishing right now, hoping that I'm going to say something that you can use against me… Frankly, you're not going to get a confession out of an innocent man."

Shamus glared at him, matching his dark brown eyes with her pale blue ones. He did not back down from her stare even a little and she could tell that not once had he lied. He gave her nothing but the truth. He just wasn't giving her all of it.

"Regardless… We believe that Shira is merely an illusion set up by a very intelligent con artist," Shamus stated evenly.

"So you think I'm very intelligent then?" Sam inferred with a small grin. "I'm flattered."

"Don't be," Shamus growled, "because I really do think that you are more than capable of something like this."

"So, what's your evidence? Other than you think I'm clever."

"You were in Castelia the first time and we know, for a fact, that you were in Driftveil the second time Shira appeared."

"Circumstantial," Sam pointed out.

Shamus sighed and rubbed at her brow. Sam continued after thinking it over. "Plus… If I _was_ Shira, then why didn't you catch me in-suit at the League? Shouldn't I have been in costume? …You may have jumped to conclusions a little too quickly."

"Not necessarily true. Catching you in the act would have resulted in your immediate arrest."

"Mm… I think it would be necessary for you to actually have a case against me," Sam answered.

Shamus sighed heavily and glared at him as she dropped the file on the floor. "Fine. It's circumstantial."

"Shamus… This isn't getting anywhere," Looker pointed out.

"I'm not done. Not yet," Shamus growled. "The Alpha squad of this department was murdered while investigating the house of Peter Luther, a crime lord in this city. Do you know him?"

Sam shrugged. "No."

Shamus narrowed her eyes, still seeing no sign that he was lying. "What about Vera Mathis? Did you know her?" _Lie… Lie. If you do, it tarnishes your credit. I know you know her._

Sam eyed her, seeing the glint of a huntress who thinks she has her prey. _She must know something about Vera… _"Yes… I knew Vera," he answered honestly.

Looker raised his eyebrows with surprise. Shamus tried to hide her disappointment. "How well do you know her?"

"We're dating… Is that a criminal offense as well?" Sam asked dryly.

"It might be… If you've ever helped her with her crimes," Shamus growled.

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Since when is Vera a wanted criminal?"

"For awhile… She was Peter's apprentice and going to take over the reigns after him," Shamus explained. She kept watching his face for some type of emotion. He looked mildly surprised at first and now just looked thoughtful. "Anything you'd care to add?"

"Mm… Nothing I should share out loud," he mused with a roguish grin.

Shamus narrowed her eyes, at a loss of words for a few moments. "Noted…"

"But I'm curious… What did you do that got the Alpha squad killed?"

"What did _we_ do?" Shamus repeated, surprised.

"Yeah… I mean, all those other criminals gave up peacefully, didn't they? So, what was the Alpha squad doing that got them killed?" Sam asked again.

Shamus scowled. "That is none of your concern," she stated.

"Actually, it is because regardless of what Vera may or may not be guilty of, I do care about her and if you tried to hurt her… Let's just say I'm not going to be so willing to help you anymore," Sam stated easily.

Shamus said nothing for a moment, locked in a slight standoff with him. "Where is she?"

"I don't know."

Shamus furrowed her brows. _He's telling the truth but… _"You must know. You said you cared about her… If you're sheltering and aiding a criminal, that I _can_ arrest you for."

"I'm not harboring any criminals," he answered levelly. _Don't have a house to harbor criminals in._

Once again, they locked in a standoff. _He hasn't lied… He's admitted to nothing… He's turned almost everything I've said against me… I've got nothing against him! But I know… It must be him. He's smart… He's too damned smart to be an innocent man._

Looker nudged his companion. "Perhaps step out, we should?"

Shamus looked back at Sam for a moment then back at Looker and nodded slowly. "Mr. Reagan… I will be back shortly," she told him curtly.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sam answered with a shrug. For a moment, Shamus looked like she wanted to hit him, but walked outside instead, slamming the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Sam leaned back in his chair and pushed his hair back out of his face with a sigh. _Damn, that woman is tough… Vera, you had better stay out of trouble._

A brief mental image of the hurt in her eyes last night flashed and he knew she wasn't much better today when he'd left her that morning, telling her to go to Striaton City and wait there. _I hope she's okay… _

In a few moments, Shamus returned. "Regardless of your pleas thus far, I still think that you're dangerous and it is still my belief that you are capable of all the charges I have brought to the table."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "_I'm _dangerous? Uh… Who in this room is A, unarmed and B, not threatening to throw an innocent man in prison. You know what I think? I think you're abusing your power right now because you can't admit that you're wrong."

Shamus's frown deepened. "As an operative of the International Police Force, it is within my power to detain a suspect believed to be dangerous and put said suspect on trial in front of a jury to be tried for his crimes. It is my intention to have you held in prison until trial unless you pay bail, which is set to one million."

"You can't do that," Sam argued.

"Actually I can. Since we felt that this interrogation is going nowhere, we'll let you try to talk your way out of this to a judge," Shamus returned slowly. "Plus, given the nature of your cellmates… We're going to see how well you can fight back and if you prove to be more than capable or show the same degree of skill as whoever attacked the Pier Street Gang… Well, I'm sure I don't have to explain it to you."

Sam stared at her for a few moments longer in disbelief before sighing. "Alright… Whatever. By all means, let's go. I'm sure you can't wait."

Shamus allowed herself a small ghost of a smile. Completely compliant, he stood and walked with her out of the room and to where the cells were. They got to the office and Shamus froze.

"Who is that?" Shamus asked as unsure as Sam had seen her. Curious he leaned around her to see a middle-aged woman with long black hair and dressed in a white and pink business suit exuding a slightly dangerous aura.

An officer nearby scratched his already messy hair. "Well, ma'am… I don't really know, but she's here to pay his bail."

* * *

**AN:** One more chapter before the Epiclogue! Yaay!

I'm sure my fake enthusiasm was showing. To me, the closer we get to the end, the less time I have to figure out how to end GSTA period. I hate to say this, and you guys are going to hate me for sure for this, but you may have a wait ahead of you for the conclusion. I've scrapped all the alternate endings I had and now have to figure something else out for the foreshadowing I had built for events that are no longer going to occur... *sigh*.

But that's for me to worry about and you guys to wait for! In the meantime, a big thank you to my wonderful Beta and lovely friend, **DarkAngelTorchic!**

**Also thank you to everyone who reads! And reviews!**

- I'm going to retire to my hermit lair for a while and watch Disney movies in an effort to get out of the little rut I've been sitting for the past month.


	16. Chapter 16

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

This was a new situation. Sam looked around for anyone else before looking back at the woman waiting patiently with a suitcase before him. "Whose bail… Mine?" Sam asked slowly, with a grin coming to his face.

Shamus grabbed his arm and pushed him in front of her. "Come on, you."

Sam found himself pushed one last time until he was standing right beside the businesswoman. Shamus took a commanding stance in front of them both. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"You wouldn't know me. I believe that he's being sent to prison? I need to borrow him. Bail was set to one million, there's two million in the suitcase, take the other million as a sign of good faith," she stated calmly, matching Shamus in every way.

Sam looked from one woman to the other. "So… That means I'm free to go?"

Shamus glared at him. "You will back here in forty-eight hours to stand trial- do you understand me?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world… Now, I want my coat and my pokemon back, please."

Grudgingly, an officer handed over the black coat and belt of pokéballs and Sam pulled both on sharply. "Well… Have a nice afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'll miss you, but it seems I'm wanted elsewhere."

Shamus clenched her jaw. The other woman grabbed his arm to get his attention. "You shouldn't goad them… Let's go, _quietly_."

Sam shrugged. "I was merely being polite… Especially after they were so hospitable," he mused, opening the door for her. Once they were outside, he eyed his benefactress. "So… Who are you?"

She eyed him back with her crimson eyes. "Hmm… You may call me Melanie… Melanie Monrose."

"Well, Melanie, what do you want from me?" Sam asked, a little wary.

"I just want to talk to you," she answered simply and honestly.

"Talk?" Sam repeated, offering her his arm as they walked through the streets slick with ice since her heels had no traction. She ignored the gesture, until she slipped and he caught her. "Talk is cheap; my bail was not."

"It certainly wasn't… But I figured I would spare myself the trouble of locating you after all this for free in exchange for putting you in my debt and getting your audience before you leave… Which I assume will be shortly."

Sam gave her another look. "You know quite a bit about me… Far more than I know about you at this moment. Though, to be fair, you didn't have to pay my bail. I wasn't planning on sticking around there anyway."

"I didn't figure. That's exactly why I paid your bail," she explained.

Sam nodded slowly, realizing that this woman was dead set on talking to him about something, though what about was a mystery to him. He continued following her lead, all the while trying to figure out why he felt like he should recognize her. As they walked up the glorified alley, Sam realized that they were heading for the Sonata.

_I suppose it's as good of a spot to talk as any. _He left her quickly and once again opened the door for her.

She gave him an odd look. "Well, aren't you charming."

"I try," he returned with a winning smile as she walked past. He paused for a moment before following her inside, only to stop suddenly as he saw who he was in the company of.

"Oh… Out of the frying pan into the fire. Great," Sam remarked, eyeing Cyrus and Ghetsis distrustfully before stepping away from the door. "Suddenly, talk isn't so cheap. I suppose you think I'm going to spill my guts to you guys?"

Ghetsis shrugged. "It'd be a nice bonus, but I don't think that is why you're here."

Sam raised his eyebrows sarcastically, not impressed. Cyrus started to get up to move and Sam froze, watching him. "You need to stay where you are… Last time I got stuck in a room with you, it did not end well for me."

Cyrus looked to Melanie, who couldn't help a smile as she waved him back. "Better?"

Sam dropped his heavy coat on the chair opposite her at the table, still keeping his eye on Cyrus. "Somewhat…"

"Sit, please," Melanie instructed, gesturing at the chair he'd dropped his coat on.

"You make it sound like I have a choice," Sam remarked dryly as he sat down. Melanie stared at him incomprehensively. "You have a pistol under that jacket. I'm not stupid."

"I don't think you are," she returned evenly. After a moment's pause she turned to Ghetsis. "He is _so_ like his mother… Don't you think?"

Ghetsis stared at him and smiled. "He is… He definitely has her eyes. Face is a little more like his father's."

Sam narrowed his eyes and looked from one to the other. "What?"

"You'll understand in a few moments… I just want an idea of what you know before we begin."

"Begin what?" Sam asked, completely confused.

She ignored his question, laying out files, sorting them out on the table. Once she was satisfied that everything was in order, she folded her arms on the table, regarding him with a measure of sympathy and pity. "Do you know who you are?"

Sam paused for a moment, looking from her to Ghetsis, who seemed to share in their little secret. "What kind of question is that?"

"A good one. You see… I wondered that myself recently… Who is this damned thief who keeps turning up and ruining my plans? Where did he come from?"

"If you'd asked, I could have told you," Sam remarked flatly.

"No… No, I don't think you could have… You see, I found the oddest things while I was looking into you," she said, pulling out a clearly marked Guild file with his name on it. "Things like… You have a very rare empathetic ability with pokémon that is called 'remarkable' and you have some very rare and powerful pokémon. So… Why aren't you a trainer? Why are we always clashing blades?"

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Do I look like the kind of person to sit around in a Gym all day?"

"No… But you could have been," she returned softly.

Sam stared at her for a moment like she was crazy. He couldn't find a response to that at all at first. No words and no thoughts other than it felt like she taking him somewhere he did not want to go. "Okay… You know what? Yes, I could have been part of the Elite Four, if I wanted. But I don't. I'm not a trainer… I don't have any interest in pitting my pokémon against someone else's for a living."

Melanie shrugged. "That could be true…"

"It _is_ true. Plus I'm terrible at it anyway," he answered dismissively. Melanie and Ghetsis both exchanged glances and looked back at him. "What?"

"And what makes you think you're terrible at it? From what I can tell, you're very good. Excellent, even… You know what I think? I think something's holding you back… A little voice in your head that says 'no'?" she prompted gently with raised eyebrows.

There was a very short flicker of surprise in his face before he went back to his typical cold and sarcastic expression, narrowing his eyes. He sighed and smoothed back his hair. "Alright… Look, I don't need some expert psych's opinion to know that I'm… more than a little twisted, okay?"

Melanie smiled. "Oh, I'm sure… But you do need me to help you remember why." She opened up the file again. "Arceus… But where to start with you?"

"What?" he asked with a mixture of confusion and irritation for the umpteenth time.

Melanie waved off his confusion dismissively again. "Just be patient. We'll get there. I can't break this to you all at once; it'd be too much and it wouldn't make any sense! So, just hush now…" She opened a new file up and slid it across the table to him.

Sam found himself looking at a picture of a very, very dark-eyed man with a record longer than his arm full of heroic deeds helping the Guild. In fact, his record was like a hit list of very important people, and all the names had been crossed off as he'd killed them- all except for one.

"Looks like you got lucky, Melanie Monrose," he remarked, realizing that her name was the only one not crossed off out of a list of over a hundred.

She shrugged. "Perhaps."

Sam looked back at it and found his attention back on the picture. _He looks… Really familiar… _Curious, he looked at the date of death and quickly did the math. _I would have been… … Five years old. _Suddenly that very strong recognition and same sense of fear from the Dreamyard hallucination come over him and he closed the file quickly.

"You know him?" Melanie asked gently.

"No."

"Hm-mm… Well, his name was Eli Hawkins. He was Drake's son."

"Good for him," Sam answered flatly.

She exchanged glances with Ghetsis for a moment. "Moving on then…" she opened another file, seemed to consider pushing it over to him before sliding out a picture instead. "Do you recognize this woman?"

She raised her eyebrows as recognition was _very _clear on his face; he even paled just a little. "I take that as a yes…" she observed, laying the picture back down. She remained silent, giving him a chance to recover a little bit as he looked at the table searchingly. "Do want to know who she is?" she offered gently.

Sam laughed flatly. "Do I want to? No… No, I really think that I don't."

"Do you want me to tell you anyway?"

He looked up at her. "Yeah… I think I know what you're going to tell me anyway."

"Her name was Hannah, she was Eli's wife and… your mother," Melanie explained, sliding the file over him now.

He looked at the pictures of both and nodded slowly. "Yeah… That's what I thought you were going to say." Suddenly he looked back at both with a feeling that he was missing something, which in turn was adding to the very bad feeling that kept growing the more she showed him.

"Ah… Feel as though something's missing?" she asked. Sam looked up at her as she pulled out one more file, checking it for something before laying it in front of him. "Your brother… Michael. He was three years older than you."

Sam read though the records quietly. If it was possible to have warning sirens going off in his head, it felt like that was happening. One part of him was very against this, while another entirely part embraced what he was realizing was the truth.

Sam looked to her with the same and she seemed very expectant. "Why are you giving me that look?" he finally asked.

"I'm waiting… Hasn't it dawned on you yet?"

"Has what dawned on me yet?" Sam asked, completely confused and still feeling like the answer was right there in front of him.

Ghetsis shook his head, looking impressed and disbelieving at the same time. "Drake must have gotten him good."

"He must have… Because I know you're smarter than this."

Ghetsis leaned over her shoulder. "It says on your little file here that you… 'Were abandoned with Mr. Briney when you just a baby and lived with him for five years.' Really?"

"Sam… Dear, come on. I think you would know better than anyone else that there's no way in heaven or hell that you would survive five years with that man. You barely scraped through a month," Melanie pointed out with a short laugh. "And… How could you remember your parents if you were just a baby?"

_He'd been shoved into the dimly lit shack with no idea where he was other than it was definitely not home. 'Mr. Briney! Listen up, you're a good sailor and I know you're still loyal to your captain.'_

'_O'course, capp'n!'_

'_I am leaving this boy here in your care, do you understand? His name is Sam… No parents or siblings. He's been here his entire life- his parents dropped him off here when he was a baby. No birth certificate. Nothing. You understand?'_

'_Yes, capp'n!'_

'_If he tells you anything else, it's crazy talk. Crazy talk is bad… Crazy talk gets you punished, doesn't it, Briney?'_

Melanie could see his poise starting to crack as memories were clearly returning, with that roadblock broken. "Oh… I think I'm starting to understand how they did it now… Never remember, but never forget… They are so clever. I'm impressed. They had you perfectly trained."

"They really did. I'm rather jealous…" Ghetsis commented

"It's not our fault. Drake is, after all, the master of manipulating people," Melanie returned quietly.

Very carefully, she pulled the files back and put them into the case she had brought them in. "Now, as you can probably tell me, Drake, your grandfather, in case you didn't catch that part, purposely manipulated your childhood from that point. Though how much is hard for me to say, that's something you're going to have to figure out on your own."

"If it's any consolation though, that's simply what the Hawkins family is known for," Ghetsis offered.

"Oh, of course. Thank you, dear! Your family on your father's side has _always_ been in the Guild. The only thing your ancestors haven't been is 'Thief Lord' and that's just because you all make for good soldiers… After you've been screwed up. Drake was raised to be a naval expert by his father because the Guild needed a navy. Your father, Eli, was raised to be an assassin because the Guild had a lot of enemies… He was that and more," she explained, pausing afterwards for a moment.

"Anyway," she said, picking the story back up again, "when it comes to you and Michael, it seems Michael was the one Eli chose to be inducted into the Guild. You were considered too 'soft-hearted' for it and I'm sure Eli wasn't fond of you, knowing him as I did."

"Problem is, when I had your father and mother… And brother killed, Eli's will came into play and there's no way he would have let the family leave the Guild for anything, so… It specifically left you in Drake's hands to be brought into the Guild," she told him, holding up the paper.

"Ouch. You know what that means, right? Your own father practically _sold_ you to the Guild, and for a very nice price, as I understand it… For _free_. Of course, your mother's will was completely ignored. She didn't want you to have anything to do with the Guild… At all."

"I would have preferred it that way," Cyrus muttered under his breath.

Melanie shrugged. "I think we can all agree upon that… Including you," she said with pointed stare at Sam.

After listening for a while in quiet shock formerly repressed memories started playing in his mind, he stood up to leave. "Wait!" Melanie called out sharply.

"I don't need to hear anymore- I get your point," Sam returned flatly.

She put all the Guild files she'd collected in the case and slid it across the table. "Take these with you. You can probably make more sense of them than I… And they should probably be returned to the Guild's archives before they're missed, don't you think?"

Sam scowled at her but took the case and left without looking back.

"_Sam… What are you doing?" his father asked suspiciously, looking down at him with the usual cold, disapproving black eyes as he crawled back out from under the table from searching for the rattata he'd let into the house accidentally._

_Before he could answer, his mother elbowed his father roughly and picked him up off the floor. "Eli, his name is not Sam, so stop calling him that. You're just going to confuse him."_

"_I know, Hannah, but Anthony's son is-"_

"_Then great minds think alike. Don't give me your Guild-influenced garbage."_

"_That's not it, Hannah," his father said, sighing with irritation. "You haven't met the kid. He's horrible. I... have a negative connotation with that name."_

_Hannah shrugged. "So? This sweet, albeit mischievous, little boy is our son and his name is Nathan."_

* * *

Cyrus jumped off the table he'd been quarantined to. "So… What was the point of all that again?"

"Yes, Melanie, as much as I enjoyed that, what exactly are you trying to accomplish?"

"It's simple," she answered with a smirk, "he just found out that his whole future was destroyed and he was handed over to the Guild without regard for what he wanted. He's going to do one of several things: quit in hopes of reclaiming the life he could have had outside the Guild, join us in bringing them down for revenge, which I hope he does because… Could you imagine? As much of the Guild as he knows, he could bring them down in a heartbeat if he wanted to. Hell, he could even take them down by himself. Or, of course, he'll simply self-destruct."

"He doesn't quite seem like the kind of person to take his own life," Cyrus remarked.

"Every man is capable of suicide," Gareth returned. "… Even Eli, at the end, didn't fight back."

* * *

Drake stood on the deck of his ship resolutely, hands clasped behind his back waiting. Steven stood beside him, relieved that the ship had stopped moving. Matt was nearby for Steven's sake, but Drake clearly didn't approve of him, so he stayed away.

"I hope he's okay…" Steven mused worriedly, scanning the dark pier for any sign of him.

Drake eyed the younger man reproachfully. "I'm sure he's fine. There's no reason to worry about him."

Steven gave him a look and started to argue before changing his mind. _Just the Unovan Police catching on, no big deal. Sure… Whatever._ "Riley said something about him bringing some guests back."

Drake shrugged. "I can't imagine why."

Steven laughed after a moment. "Probably because they helped him out and he doesn't want them to get in trouble. That's Sam for you."

"More than likely… And one will probably be a woman, just watch," Matt chipped in.

Drake rolled his eyes. "He's too soft-hearted for his own good," he said with quite a bit of disgust. "What kind of assassin feels bad after killing his enemies?"

"It's a good thing Sam is not an assassin then," Steven returned. Not that hearing things like this from Drake surprised him at all- to Sam's face he was usually almost kind but behind his back he disproved of everything he did that didn't involve murder. "In fact, I think I finally convinced him to give all that up. There's no reason for him to be involved in all that anyway."

Drake turned on him sharply. "There's plenty of reason. The Guild needs fighters and assassins right now. It doesn't matter if he wants to or not, he has a duty to fulfill."

"We'll see… It's _his _choice, not anyone else's," Steven returned, before looking back to the pier and seeing dark shapes move towards the ship. "That must be him now."

The three shapes came into view and climbed up walkway. Confused crewmembers backed away. One, a young woman stepped forward, eyeing Drake. "And you must be the captain…"

"Where's Sam?" Matt asked.

"He'll be here shortly," she answered. "You must be… Matt? I'm Vera."

Matt shook her hand and used his other hand to fan his eyes as he got a little emotional. "Ooh! He told you about me?"

"What is he doing?" Drake asked flatly, interrupting.

"I don't know. And at that point time, I wasn't going to ask him," she answered before turning her back on him.

Drake sighed and turned back to the other two: one a young man with pink hair and an old woman around his age. Steven wasn't sure what to make of her either. Drake offered her a smile. "Ma'am, what brings you aboard my ship?"

She returned the smile. "Sam, of course… He stayed with me and I helped him while he was in Castelia this last month. You_ must_ be Drake…"

"I am," he said, showing a lot more charm in front of people his own age, than those younger. "And you are?"

"Her name is Annette Reagan," Sam said, cutting into their conversation, surprising everyone as no one heard him come on deck. No one moved at first, and continued to stare, surprised by his appearance. His bangs (which used to hang in his face) were combed to the side and he was dressed rather smartly, a sharp change from when he'd left.

Drake stared at him, caught off guard, before reaching to clap him on the shoulder, but found his hand caught in a vice-like grip instead. Steven took a step forward to greet him, but Sam walked right past him coldly. "Matt, come with me," was all he said to anyone.

Matt was quickly to react, sharing a glance with Steven first as he walked away with Vera and Adyran following like a scared bunny.

Steven was visibly hurt. Annette brushed past Drake and touched his arm. "You must be Steven… Sam talked about you quite a bit."

Drake along with everyone looked shocked. "What the hell just happened?"

"Captain Drake Hawkins, turn this ship out to open sea and stop gawking," Annette returned with a quiet snap at Drake.

Drake froze and gave her a look before obeying. "Turn out the sails and get the engine running… Let's get out of here."

Annette waited until Drake was gone before continuing. "I'm sorry… I don't know what's gotten into him all of the sudden, but I can tell you that something is very wrong. He asked me a lot of… Odd questions regarding my husband, Varric, when he came back today."

"Varric… As in, Drake's former first mate?" Steven asked, surprised.

"The very same… Once he sorts through things a little more, I'm sure he'll have some questions for you too. Just answer them honestly and the best you can. He'll come around. You're his father and I know he loves you."

"Do you… Know why? Or anything about what happened?" Steven asked, still confused but a little less hurt.

"No… But I can tell you that it probably has something to do with Drake," she answered, glaring daggers at the man's back.

* * *

Below deck, Sam stood in front of the window overlooking the churning seawater as the ship plowed through it. Matt sat down quietly, giving Sam a worried look. "Sam…? You kinda… Gave Steven a pretty cold greeting. He's been really worried about you." Seeing no reaction, Matt quieted and then shrugged. "Could have at least said hi to him."

"Adyran, give him the files," Sam ordered, not turning away from the window. Adyran handed over the case to Matt timidly. "There should be a file in there for Eli Hawkins."

Matt sorted through them quickly. "There are a lot of Hawkins…" he remarked as he pulled out the right one and opened it up. Almost immediately, he did a double take at the picture. "Oh, he's h-"

"Don't… Go there. Just don't. Does it say in the file how he died?"

Matt flipped through the pages. "You know, this sounds like a job for Ryan. I tried to convince her to come, you know, but she… … … Holy shit."

"Read it to me," Sam commanded.

"Uh… Not sure if I want to say all this out loud. This guy _and_ his whole family were butchered," Matt answered nervously.

Sam sighed heavily. "Okay… … Was Eli… Shot? Through the head?"

"Yeah… … Execution-style. They must have had him chained somehow. Big-time chaffing on the wrists from struggling," Matt answered nervously.

"And… His son, Michael was…"

Seeing Sam struggling to put words to it, Matt read from the file. "Mutilated with a dagger… Basically. His wife was… Um… Gang raped and then strangled."

Sam let out a calming breath and nodded slowly. "Okay… … Does it say anything about Nathan Hawkins."

"Um… Same as Michael… I guess. Um, why are we doing this?" Matt asked finally.

"Just humor me for a little longer. I promise I'll tell you eventually I just..."

Matt cut him off gently. "Okay. Whatever you need. What else?"

"The funeral… What did they do afterwards?"

Matt flipped through it a little further and found the details. "Looks like… Oh Arceus! He's Drake's son? Did you- Never mind of course you know. Uh… Drake buried them pretty much immediately. They just had a sort of service for Eli and that was because he's super legendary and whatnot."

"Is his will in there?" Sam asked hesitantly.

"Uh… Yep. Should I read it out loud or…?"

"Just… Tell me anything concerning Nathan."

Matt looked at Vera, who shrugged and mouthed 'I don't know either' to him. "Right… Uh… Oh. Wow, what? He was raising his own son Michael to be an assassin just like him! Geez! The boy was what, eight? That's horrible!" Matt fumed. Sam glanced at him and a small smile came to his face.

Matt kept making noises as he read, then suddenly froze. "What?" He looked at Sam, then back at the will. "What? … What!"

"What does it say, Matt?"

"In the event that Nathan is my surviving son, parental custody goes to Drake to someday be passed on to the Guild and finish the work that I started and take down the Brotherhood. No one is to know of his survival. Bury another boy in his place and keep his existence secret. Do not call him by the same name; don't risk the Brotherhood finding out. I know they have people in our ranks. Use his middle name instead: Sam."

Vera looked up sharply at Matt and then at Sam who had turned around now. "Wait… _You're_ Nathan?!"

Matt gaped. "Oh my sweet mother of pearl… You told the death scene from _memory_?"

"It's all… Very vague. All I remember is… I _heard_ everything… And saw the aftermath."

"But… I thought your parents abandoned you with Mr. Briney…?" Matt asked.

Sam laughed shortly and finally walked over to sit down. "No… No, that was just the blatant lie Drake told me and… … Let's just say over extenuating circumstances, I came to accept it as the truth without question."

"Well… That explains why you were so cold to Drake, but… Why Steven?"

Sam sighed. "This goes beyond Drake… Many people would have had to have a hand in this. And… It was their plan to get me into the Guild… … The reason why I joined is because Steven thought it was a good idea."

"No… Steven wouldn't do that to you."

"I can't be certain right now… All I know as that you three I can trust, which is why you're here… I don't know how far this goes, but… I have never heard of Eli until literally, hours ago. He's a legend _and_ Drake's son. Someone kept everything that might have reminded of what really happened a secret from me. Whoever is behind all this is protecting something much bigger than just their asses from me if I ever found out."

Matt nodded quietly. "What about the… Brotherhood that Eli, I mean, your father mentions in his will?"

"I'm pretty sure I've already found them. The woman that kept coming up… Sinnoh, Team Rocket, and Aqua and Magma... Her name is Melanie Monrose. She and a man who calls himself 'Ghetsis' are responsible for this. I don't know who he really is, but they don't concern me right now. I am more concerned about whoever was playing me."

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean… Yeah, they've lied to you and used you, but… This could get us labeled as traitors and killed!"

"_They_ are the traitors, Matt. My family was murdered by either Melanie or Ghetsis, I'm positive about that much. But there is _no way_ they could have found where we lived. My father was paranoid as hell… Even I don't know where we lived. The only person outside the house who knew was Drake. Someone tipped off Melanie and that's how she found him. That's the only way."

"But… But why would they do that? Eli was… Clearly a badass and a hero!" Matt pointed out desperately.

"Because… He was going to retire… Stop being an assassin. He didn't want to do it anymore. They must have tried to bring him back, like they've repeatedly done to me, but he still said no. I'm guessing that someone didn't take that too kindly," Sam told him flatly.

"But… Who would do that?" Matt asked quietly.

"I don't know. That's what we're going to find out. I've noticed for a while that the Guild has been taking some… Weird turns. We're getting way too public and turning into a… World domination force. Something is wrong… … They must be playing Riley too."

Vera sighed. "So this is why you told us not to join the Guild."

"Yes… Being in Castelia and seeing how Peter ran things like Varric had told him, I saw that what you were doing was a little off from the original basis of the Guild… But not as far off as the Guild itself is," Sam stated calmly.

Matt fidgeted. "Yeah… If anyone heard us right now, we would get in so much trouble."

"That's why you can't tell anyone else about this… Not even Steven."

"You're not going to tell Steven? … I think he deserves to know," Matt argued.

"No. I will not drag him into this… He'd just blame himself. And that's only if isn't allied with them too," Sam said flatly.

Matt paused and then snapped his fingers. "There's no way he is! You didn't hear the way Drake talked to him. Steven was all kinds of proud that you were going to come back and leave the Guild behind you and Drake was all 'he'll do whatever the Guild asks' and Steven was all 'it's _his_ choice, not yours' and Drake was pretty pissy after that… But-"

Sam paused and looked up at him. "Did he really say that?"

"Yeah! Yeesh, Sam… I mean… Nathan…? Arceus, who are you?!" Matt said with exasperation and throwing his hands up.

"That's a good question… I've gone by Sam for almost twenty years now. I don't see any reason to try and go back to being 'Nathan' now," he answered with a dry chuckle.

"Okay… That's definitely easier for me to handle then. Now _you_ should go talk to Steven. That poor, sweet man did not come all the way out here for you to totally blow him off like that. Go!"

Sam stood up. "Yes, I know. I'm going."

"And while you're gone I'll use my handy-dandy computer to look more into Eli," Matt offered.

"No! That's a bad idea!" Vera interrupted before Sam could even react. "I'm guessing they can know what you're searching for. Sam, if they think you're not going to play along anymore… There's no telling what they'll do."

Matt stammered and closed his laptop. "But… Then how are we supposed to look into this at all?"

Vera gestured at Adyran. "He's a world class hacker… And the Guild doesn't know what he's capable of. Can you hack into a super network without being tracked?"

"Y-y-yes… B-b-but it w-w-w, but it will t-take t-t-time," Adyran answered.

"I thought so…" Vera answered.

Matt narrowed his eyes at the timid pink-haired boy. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Matt," Sam started warningly.

Vera cut him off. "Why are you still here. You've been dismissed. Go talk to Steven."

"Yes, Sam, go talk to Steven," Matt seconded, still glaring at Adyran.

Sam sighed heavily. "I'm going… Arceus." He closed the door behind him, looking for anyone who may have been listening on their conversation before walking back up to the deck where he figured Steven would probably be, and he was right.

"You're not quite as green as I thought you'd be," Sam commented, leaning on the rail beside him.

Once he recovered from his surprise, Steven managed a chuckle. "Oh… You didn't see me on our way here. I've gotten better at this whole sea-faring thing."

"Going to be a pirate now, are we, Steven?" Sam teased.

"Eeh… I don't think I'd make for a good pirate. Not like Drake," Steven joked good-humoredly until he saw the smile almost instantly die on Sam's face. "Or… Maybe not… …"

"Don't worry about it, Steven… I wouldn't expect you to know," Sam returned, managing a small smile again.

"Am I ever going to know?" Steven asked after a moment's pause.

"It's better if you don't know," Sam stated. "…I am sorry, though… Just for the record."

"Sorry for what?"

"Doubting you," Sam answered. "You didn't deserve that, so… I'm sorry."

Steven shrugged with a small grin. "Don't worry about it. Annette warned me. No hard feelings, Sam."

"I'll have to thank her later, then…"

Steven gave him a look. "Yes… Who is that woman?"

"You'll have plenty of time to get to know her yourself. I heard from Matt that you and Drake don't really get along… Is that true?"

"Arceus, yes. He's far more pleasant when you're around but as soon as you leave… He goes right back to being his usual self. He's not fond of me… Can't say that he ever was," Steven mused.

Sam nodded slowly. "Do you know why that is?"

Steven shrugged. "Because I decided to take you in."

"What?"

"Ah, Drake thought that me taking you in was useless. I got a lot of flack over it from a lot people, not just Drake. Everyone seemed to think you had been on the streets for a while so I might as well leave you there. They didn't stop complaining until you joined the Guild… But Drake's never liked me since," Steven explained, rolling his eyes to keep the light-hearted mood.

"Do you remember any specific names of people who were against it?"

"Most of the Elite Four, few of the captains in Hoenn… And Koga, oddly enough."

Sam nodded slowly. "So that's how it was… Well, Steven, for what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't listen to them."

Steven grinned. "Most of the time, I'm glad too." Sam stared at him for a moment before laughing. Steven laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you came back safe for once… Are you still coming back home?"

"The old archives are in Hoenn, aren't they?" Sam asked. Steven nodded. "Then, yes, I'm going back home… And no matter Riley or anyone else says, that's where I'm going to stay for a good, long while."

_I will stay there until I know who I'm after… And then I'll kill them all._

* * *

**AN:** And the horrible truth spills forth... So yeah, basically Drake told him 'this is who you are now' and that was just how it was going to be. Totally terrible, I know. Now... You'll probably have 17 on time... Then there will be an 18 and I'm fairly certain of a 19... _probably_ a 20, but I won't swear to it. Actually... Wait. Yes, there will be a 20._  
_

But hey, I published in a timely manner today, so that counts for something, right?

Adyran belongs to CloudOfSwirlingStorm.

Big thank you to my good friend and beta, DarkAngelTorchic!

And thank you guys for putting up with my bullshit and reading GSTA to the end... You guys are awesome. Though I'm thinking there will be a pretty shared sigh of relief when I end this monster (I know I'll be relieved).


	17. Chapter 17

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

It was raining- that kind of movie effect rain that soaks everything and chills a sad soul to the core. It didn't usually rain on Mt. Pyre in Hoenn, so it seemed to many that the loose mud over the freshly buried coffin was particularly tragic. Many felt that the woman buried there must have been a very good person- better than she let on, they all mused. Of course, everyone felt particularly sorry for Sam, who had said absolutely nothing about the death of Vera, his partner for over two years. A lot of assumptions were going around, as was speculation as to what would follow since she was murdered. Many of those who came to the very quick service for her left gossiping to each other, while Sam stayed behind without a word to anyone, a completely blank expression on his face. Without so much as a trace of emotion, he stood in the rain and stared at the headstone with no other movement than to blink. He was alone for quite a while before the squelching of mud and soggy ground announced that two others were coming.

Drake stopped on his left and another man he vaguely recognized stopped on his right, though he didn't move his gaze to look at them. Drake glared at him from the left, while the one on the right started speaking, "You know… Nathan Samuel Hawkins… I didn't figure you for the mourning type. You always seemed to internalize and move on in a matter seconds like you never cared at all. I was shocked to hear that this is where I could find you," he drawled in a Solaceon accent smothered in arrogance.

"Do you want something from me, Nathan?" Sam asked Riley's older brother after a brief pause.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I want you to stop killing all of my best men! Oh yes, we figured that was you. I don't know what tipped you off to all this, but I won't have you disrupting my work!" Nathan declared, still smiling and almost laughing.

"And I won't have you dragging down the family name," Drake growled.

"The family name doesn't mean anything to me," Sam answered, unperturbed.

Nathan shook his head. "That's really unfortunate, Nathan Hawkins, because I'd really hoped we could talk this out like two reasonable men."

"He's as stubborn as his damn mother… And as foolish as Steven," Drake snarled at him warningly, but getting no reaction.

"You know… It really was convenient that our enemies had the sense of mind to kill her too," Nathan commented light-heartedly. "But that's old news. What's news today is that you, my good assassin, have not been behaving! Have you got anything to say for yourself?"

Getting no response back, he clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder as he continued, "Yeah… Probably not much in the mood for talking since your… What was she? Girlfriend? I heard talk of a fiancé or something? Doesn't matter though, since she's dead now… … I bet you'd like to know whose fault that was."

"It's yours," Drake growled in answer.

The other man's crooked smile widened further. "That's right. You see, we've tried to be reasonable with you… promoted you to a 'commander' and even let you investigate into us a bit and tried to gently turn you back from interfering in our business. See, that isn't your purpose. My family didn't keep you around because we liked you- you were useful to us and you stayed that way for a while, hunting down that Rocket bitch and her little mercenary company. But now… Now you're causing more trouble than you're worth. You and whatever pals you got helping you."

_They were a small group, but every single of them were people that Sam trusted and knew that they would do anything and everything to help him out with their latest enemy and far more concerning enemy. Vera stood beside him, Brawly sat at his right with Sydney, and Flannery on his left with, to his surprise, Winona. She felt very strongly about being betrayed and once she heard, the rather shy meek Winona turned into 100 pounds of vengeance. He would have teased her about it normally, but now wasn't the time to irritate her. There would be time enough for that later._

_Matt was adding the final touches to the web of pictures and string that formed the intricate design of whatever the organization that plagued the Guild. The last picture that went up fell into line with those of questionable loyalty- a picture of Koga._

_Matt clapped his hands together with anticipation as he turned around. "Well? What do you think?"_

"_It's a start," Sam commented flatly._

_Matt rolled his eyes. "Me and Adyran worked forever to ferret out all of this craziness and all you've got to say is that 'it's a start'. Huh, the nerve of you, you ungrateful welp."_

_Sam raised his eyebrows in mock offense. "Stow it, you pudgy of useless flesh. Let's not forget how many times I saved your life."_

"_Arceus, could you two not argue like a married couple for five minutes? We've got a pretty big hit list… Er, black list… wall… Black wall," Vera finally decided to call the web spread across the wall. "Now what are we going to do about it?"_

"_Start at the bottom and work our way up. Question each one first to make sure we've got the right people and to make sure we get them all," Sam answered simply._

"_Who's going to be doing that?" Winona asked._

"_I'm up for some neck-snapping," Sydney volunteered, cracking his knuckles. He had been played into the Guild, like Sam, just on a much smaller scale. Though most people just knew him as a top tier dark-type trainer, he was also a high-class street fighter._

"_I don't care who does what. Matt and Adyran can take care of intel and keeping anyone from finding out about our small bunch of resistance fighters. If you feel comfortable capturing and interrogating someone from this… Black Wall, then do it. If you can't kill them afterwards, then call me, Vera, or Sydney and we'll take care of it from there."_

"_What about the higher ups?" Flannery asked. "They won't be easy, and we don't even know who they are yet."_

"_You leave them to me," Sam answered in a flat but dark voice that brooked no argument._

_Brawly shook his head slowly. "You've got to tell more people about this, brosiah. We're just… Ankle breakers right now."_

"_Yeah, there are a lot of people who would help if they knew!" Flannery seconded._

"_And there are a lot of people who would be terrified and turn us in," Vera answered. "We might pick up more people as time goes by, but it's a very delicate task. One wrong person could bring us down."_

"_Besides," Sam continued in the lull of conversation, "one loyal fighter is better than a hundred hired men and hired men is all they have for their base army. We're already better off than them; we just have to keep the odds in our favor."_

_That turned out harder than they imagined, especially when Sam and Matt both had to abandon the cause to fight another- Goldenrod, the capital of Johto fell to the Brotherhood under their old alias as Team Rocket. Until that point, Sam had slipped almost entirely out of the Guild's grasp and they had been ignoring Melanie while they focused on their internal troubles, but that was over now. The once beautiful golden city was covered in blood and battered with steel, deprived of hope, and broken by their cruel conquerors. One of those people who were stuck in that new Hell was Lyra… And there was no way either of the two men were going to let that slide. A reporter caught the lone assassin and his team of powerful, foreign pokémon freed the city within a day- a three headed dragon, a steel blade-pokemon from Unova, a scared pink pokémon, an aggron, and a very vicious shape-shifter that most assumed to be a ditto._

_Riley watched that news from his office, safe and sound in Sinnoh. Sitting beside him was a man he'd recently befriended and often advised him on certain things as Steven had once done before he retired to keep a more careful, but less conspicuous watch on Hoenn. Riley hadn't been able to deny his friend that- it was well deserved, after all._

_Riley smiled and laughed shortly. "Ah… That would be Sam for you. When pushed, he can take down a whole city of enemies overnight… … I just wish there was a way I could pay him back for everything he's done…"_

_Adrian, his friend, nodded in agreement. "You know… I've been thinking the same thing in light of the recent events. Perhaps it's time to expand the Guild a little more. We need a good fighting army right now. Perhaps it's time to take what you did for Team Galactic and make it official. Real generals in charge of training and sending out soldiers to fight our enemies," he suggested._

"_That's… Not too bad of an idea! But we already have Generals, Colonels, Captains, and Prefects, so what would we call them?" Riley mused._

"_Commander, perhaps?" Adrian suggested._

_And so it was… The Battle Castle of the Frontier, run entirely by the Guild, was packed with its loyalists. Standing on highest balcony where Caitlin once sat, a striking young man who had introduced himself to them all as Adrian stood making his speech. "It is with the greatest honor that I present to you the four new commanders over the rising army. Each one of these fine, heroic people have displayed the greatest skill that the Guild has to offer at this time."_

"_This is wrong…" Sam remarked under his breath, trying to maintain a pleasant outward expression for the people around and below them, cheering and joyful as they thought that greatness was being recognized._

"_Can't you jus be happy? Jus dis vonce?" Myra hissed at him in sour temper._

"_No. I didn't want this… And they knew that. I was dragged in here and they didn't even ask me," Sam growled back. _

_Robert stood impassive as always. "You too? I tried to tell them 'no' as well… That Adrian fellow was not pleased."_

"_I vas as vell. If dey von't take 'no' for an answer, dan ve vill jus have to smile and be happy," Myra answered, obviously almost as unwilling to take the role as the two men standing on either side of her with equally grim faces._

"_Hush," Cynthia interrupted as the crowd quieted down and the medals came out. She was clearly empathizing with them, but unwilling to say it aloud in such a public place._

_In turn, Adrian took the brass medals of office and pinned it on them, speaking to them each as he went._

"_Commander Cynthia, thank you for your cooperation… Commander Robert, I hope that you'll come to appreciate the honor we've given you. Commander Myra, thank you for your cooperation as well. I appreciate it very much," Adrian said in turn before stopping in front of Sam._

"_Commander Samuel… I can't even begin to tell you how happy we are that you have come back to the Guild," he said with a smug smile as he pinned on the medal to his black uniform._

_As soon as he walked away to continue the ceremony, Sam muttered under his breath, "You won't be soon enough."_

_Though Adrian missed that statement, it soon became true. One good thing about being back in the Guild was the information at his fingertips, not to mention a new bargaining power with Melanie that he used to entreat an unsteady truce. The whole atmosphere of the Guild became very tense and apt to explode at a spark. It became even more unsteady when Colonels and Captains started dying very gruesome deaths at the hand of a very adept assassin. Most people attributed the killer to The Brotherhood, the alliance between Team Rocket, Galactic, and a battered Plasma._

_A few were guessing otherwise._

_The only reason he knew he was being hunted was because he could feel it- a predator was nearby. His hair had gone mostly gray as he was in fifties, but he was still capable of great feats of athleticism and stealth. He ran through the alleys of Saffron and disappeared into the shadows, thinking himself safe perched on a streetlight. He listened for who he knew had to be following but heard nothing but his blood pounding in his ears._

_Many of his colleagues had met with bloody ends recently that had been attributed to Covenant Corporations: the union of Team Rocket, Galactic, and Plasma, but Koga was already ahead of the curb- he was fairly sure about the identity of the assassin and it was far worse than Melanie Monrose and her thugs._

_His thoughts were broken by something landing on top of him, dropping down from the roof, and sending Koga to ground. Coughing and hurting, Koga tried to get up. He felt cool metal against his forehead and the click of a pistol._

"_Stay on your knees, Koga," the voice warned._

_Koga looked up at the assassin, dressed in solid black and armed with all kinds of weapons. "S… Sam?" He remained kneeling obediently, his hands holding his body off the ground as Sam circled him like a large, dangerous cat examining its prey._

"_You and I both know that my name isn't really Sam…"_

"_Nathan, then," Koga corrected cautiously, not wanting to further bite into an already bleeding wound._

"_Do you know why I'm here?"_

"_Because you've found out about the families… I suppose Melanie told you?" Koga asked._

"_She did… You seem quite a bit more knowledgeable than the others I've… talked to. You can keep talking as long as you say something other than "I don't know"," Sam commented, disarming the pistol for a moment as he stopped in front of him._

_Koga looked up at him, struggling for breath. "Can I have a moment?"_

"_Sure. I have all the time in the world- the only person here running out of time is you."_

"_If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to die another day… Besides, we're more alike than you realize," Koga returned, drawing a curious look from Sam. "You're probably hear because you figured out that I knew your father well and I'm the only one who could have ratted him out."_

_Sam shrugged. "You're right… Are you going to tell me I'm wrong?"_

"_It's accurate, but that's just the surface. They killed my wife and held Janine captive… I didn't have any choice in the matter. It's not a fact either of us like, but it is the truth… I've been stuck in this mess ever since."_

_Sam's face didn't change. "Well… … That certainly changes things. But I'm afraid you're still going to have to die here." Koga looked up sharply with surprise. Hours later, all the police found was an unidentifiable corpse and a lot of blood. The only thing was a red cape that hinted that it was the famed ninja master, Koga. _

That was apparently the last blow his enemies were going to take.

Sam shrugged loosely after thinking on Nathan's accusation that all of this was his fault. "I'm not sorry."

"Oh, I bet you aren't… But I bet you're feelin' pretty dang sorry right now, dragging your friends into this, ain't ya?" he asked, leaning down to get a better look at Sam's face with that arrogant smirk plastered all over his face. "Yep, I think you are. Well, don't worry about it too much. Better her than you, eh?" he assured him, giving his shoulder a sympathetic pat.

"But you know…" he continued thoughtfully. "Your girl down there, six feet under, she's just the beginning. You see, we've been at this for far too long to just let you come along and tear it all down. So I want you do know that it wasn't anything personal. Just got to keep you in line and it would be a crying shame to kill over 20 years of time investments, doncha think?"

"And if you still decide to be meddlesome, the next one will be that little queer you keep around," Drake growled.

"Matt… Yes, he's the next on our list. The third time, we'll just kill you. And if you think that I won't throw you out just because you're useful, think again. The moment you become a bigger hassle than you're worth, your life then becomes a nuisance to us, so we'll take it away. Like I said, we've been at this for a long time. By 'we' I mean about 90% of my family line. A deal was struck between three prominent families years ago… Mine, yours, and another to handle the money. You've probably met him, good ol' Adrian."

"So… You're in charge of this whole faction?" Sam asked flatly, raising his eyes slightly.

"I am. If it wasn't for Riley, I'd be the king of the Guild too. Apparently good ol' dad had a change of heart… It doesn't really matter though, Riley is easy to play. In fact, he's so easy, our plan of taking over the four regions is right on schedule and Unova is under way," Nathan said with a laugh.

Sam snapped his gaze at him immediately and the stone-cold façade of grief disappeared immediately and the laugh died in Nathan's throat. "World domination? That was your goal?" he asked incredulously. "Tsk, tsk… I had hoped for something at least a little more creative than that."

"Wh-" Nathan began, stupefied by the sudden change. Any further ramblings were cut off by a dagger to his and Drake's throat. "What? I thought-"

"You thought wrong… You typically do when it comes to me," Sam interrupted coldly. "Did you really think I was that stupid? I used Vera to draw you out. Granted, only two people caught on to my scheme, so don't feel too bad."

"You knew that… I would come?" Nathan sputtered.

"I made an educated guess, and I was right. I was fairly certain you were the one behind all this- me and Koga had a little chat. Once I suspected you, it wasn't hard to figure out how to bait you. Vera was just convenient. The little resistance group against you that I've been leading needed a little push… A martyr was exactly what they needed and I figured some higher up would come to rub it in my face afterwards. Vera… I saved her life, so she owed me anyway."

"You conniving, manipulating…. Deprived bastard," Nathan growled under his breath.

"I learned from the best, didn't I?" Sam returned. "All of this, right now- it's _your_ fault. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

Nathan tightened his face into a scowl to hide behind. "So, are you going to kill me?"

Sam narrowed his dark eyes further and a very small ghost of a smile pulled at his lips. "No."

Drake snorted. "Of course not. You're so weak. Why not? Would killing us bother your conscience?"

"No. I just don't like hurting innocent people when I can help it- you two are far from that. I don't want you dead- I want you to suffer for as long as I can drag it out… You will suffer something far worse than death."

"And what's worse than death?" Nathan asked with a curious smile, arrogance returning to his voice now that he wasn't going to die anymore.

"I'm going to lock you inside an inescapable cage from which you will watch as I tear down everything you've ever cared about," Sam answered, removing his daggers from their throats. Nathan stared at him in confusion then saw only a blur as Sam turned around, twisted Drake's arm around his back with a sick crack sounding from Drake's shoulder, and slammed the blunt hilt of the weapon into his back before pulling out a syringe and injecting whatever chemical monster inside into his neck and bloodstream.

Nathan managed to take one step back while Drake slumped to his knees before Sam turned his attention to him. All the movements were so quick that Nathan didn't even feel his shoulder dislocate, only the searing, burning sting of the toxin that burned through his body. Almost immediately after, he lost all sensation in his toes, then feet, and knees so he dropped to the ground and noticed that Drake wasn't moving either.

Sam stood over him impassively and eyed the fallen. Nathan stared up at him with utter shock, confusion, and fear. "You're probably wandering what I just did to you…" Sam inferred. "When I had a little chat with Koga, I was planning on killing him… But then I found out that you killed his wife and kidnapped his daughter Janine to get him to cooperate. That's a real asshole move of you and we both agreed that you were going to have to go. So, I faked his murder to get you away from Janine and he gave me his latest poison… It attacks your nervous system so you can't move… You are paralyzed for the rest of your miserable lives, but nothing will happen to your brain. You're a fully conscious vegetable and you'll stay that way. I'll call up the attendant though and make sure you go somewhere safe… Maybe a retirement home or mental institute… And the nice people who work there will make sure that nothing bad ever happens to you again. Isn't that nice?" Sam told him with a cruel grin.

He walked over to Drake and nudged him with his boot to get him to roll on his back so he wouldn't suffocate. The look in his eyes was almost the same as Nathan's. Sam raised an eyebrow. "You raised me to be a cold-hearted and ruthless killer, so don't look so surprised that I am. Luckily for you, Drake, one of is going to have to disappear… And since you're the oldest and not likely to last very long- it's you I'll be throwing off the cliff to drown with these," Sam informed him with a very cheerful smile before grabbing him by the back of his jacket and dragging him to the edge of the mountain before tossing him off unceremoniously with the empty syringes.

Without trace of remorse, he watched white spray erupt as Drake's helpless body landed in the water, missing all the rocks to drown. He looked back at Nathan with a grin. "Alright… Now, it's time for me to go. I have a business meeting I need to attend now. I'll be sure to visit you wherever you end up."

Sam gave Nathan a hearty slap on the back before he got up and walked towards the gate. As he stepped inside, he adopted a wounded and almost teary-eyed expression almost instantaneously and latched on to the sleeve of a surprised gatekeeper. "Someone collapsed! I –"

"Wait, what? What happened?!" the officer asked.

"I… I was paying my respects to an old friend and this guy… … I don't know what happened, but he collapsed," Sam answered with a slight tremor and panicked tone like a very concerned citizen.

"Alright, just stay here! I'll go check on him! Stay here though." With that, the gate officer ran out into the grounds quickly, pulling out his phone.

Once he was gone, Sam dropped the act immediately and walked through the building, joined quickly by a man with a hood. "You know, Sam, you really should have been an actor… You are damn good at it. I almost believed that," Matt commented looking behind them nervously. "I take it Riley's brother Nathan was the head of our internal trouble?"

"Well, he _was_. I'm sure I don't have to tell you, but you cannot tell anyone what just happened. Nathan had a severe seizure or whatever the good doctor rules and Drake went down with his ship that sunk off the coast of Slateport. No one needs to know how far back this goes or that Riley's family was in charge…"

Matt shook his head. "People are going to ask questions… They'll want to know who's been screwing us over."

Sam sighed wearily. "I know… That's why I trust you to destroy all evidence that points to him."

"It's already done. Adyran and I already took care of all the digital evidence… It's completely destroyed, we made sure of that. I'll pay the archives a visit and remove those files as well."

"That won't be necessary. We don't need the archives anymore and there are too many files there that need to be destroyed, it's best to just burn it to the ground. So I'll be taking care of that," Sam answered quietly as they passed a group of innocent civilians.

Matt grimaced. "I guess that takes care of that then. What about the rest of the underlings?"

"We'll hunt them down one at a time… Sadly, by we, I don't mean you and I. Now that Riley has promoted me, it will be easy to separate the loyal from the traitors and to have them executed. In the meantime, there is another matter that needs to be tended to…"

Matt heaved a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. "Ugh… Yes, back to the old regime of overthrowing Lady Psycho. Got any plans for that?"

Sam smirked like a naughty child as he pulled out his cell phone. "I always have a plan… of sorts."

* * *

Ghetsis and Melanie sat together on a white couch, cuddling close and fairly relaxed, hidden deep within the confines of an icy mountain in Johto. She giggled as he pulled her long graying, ebony black hair back with his one good hand, grinning at her. "Gareth… You shouldn't suggest such things… You know how I feel about that."

"I know… That's why I suggested it… Come on, old girl, it's been some time since we hunted a quarry together."

"Because we're too old for that sort of thing," she returned.

"Maybe I am, but you haven't changed at all, love."

The door slamming open stopped further talk and they stared at a very irritated Cyrus. "Is something wrong, dear?" Melanie asked flatly, not pleased to see him interrupting their moment.

"How much time are you guys going to waste? We have done nothing for months now to fight the Guild! We've been sitting at a truce when we should be taking advantage of their divided state to actually do something! And you two are just sitting around like everything's perfect!" Cyrus seethed, his patience had apparently snapped.

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Please, Cyrus. We've done plenty of ground-stealing. The Guild might be under distress, but you should realize that challenging situations only make their favorite soldier stronger. Besides, it gives us plenty of time to train our own army and since we've left them alone, they have left us alone. Business has been very profitable."

"It might be profitable, but it's not expanding as far as it needs to," Cyrus argued.

Gareth shrugged. "We've got plenty of time. Guild is fighting a civil war, they'll weaken and then we can swoop in and finish the job."

"Weakened? _Weakened_! Are you kidding me?" Cyrus seethed. "Your little friend has done nothing but _strengthen_ their foundation. He has been repairing and defending every defense the Guild has- there's hardly anything to exploit anymore! Just what were you planning to do when he takes care of his enemy and comes after us?!"

Melanie sighed. "Cyrus, just leave the thinking to me, okay? I have plenty of time to think of something."

"You have a lot less than you think. I've got word that he's been focusing on taking out all the higher ups of his rebellious faction and if he hasn't found them already, he's got to be close," Cyrus growled warningly.

Melanie opened her mouth to argue with her very rebellious underling when her phone rang. She checked it and raised her eyebrows. "Sam… We were just talking about you," she answered pleasantly.

"How interesting… I trust you're doing well at the moment, Melanie?"

"Since you've left us in peace, we've done quite well… Now, what is it that you want? More help in taking down your demons?" she teased playing with a lock of hair as she put her phone on speaker.

"I don't recall asking for your help ever, Melanie. I just called a temporary truce… Which, to my surprise, you accepted," Sam mused as he exchanged his muddy and soaked jacket for a clean, black suit jacket.

Melanie's brow furrowed. "How do you mean?"

"You must be slipping, Melanie… That or you don't know as much about running an army as you think you do."

Cyrus broke the silence that followed as Melanie fumbled for a proper response. "What do you want, Sam?"

"Just returning a favor. Melanie, you warned me of the storm that I was about to walk into and told me what I needed to know ahead of time. Consider this fair warning- our truce is about to break. I have a few more orders of business to finish up- you know, reorganizing the troops and cleaning house, but when I'm done… I'll be coming for you next. You have a year to prepare for that… I hope you don't make it too easy for me, especially since you've been enjoying such a cushy life for so long," Sam explained with a fake tone of concern towards the end.

"You might have a slight advantage, but next time I see you, I'll kill you," Cyrus snapped darkly.

"… I look forward to it, Cyrus. In the meantime, you should be aware that I've found your little hideout in the Silver range, not too far from Mt. Silver itself. Interesting hideout, but you've been there for almost a decade so locating you was no trouble at all, even easier once you started getting sloppy just because you thought I wasn't paying attention. But that's beside the point, if you try to leave, I will know and I will strike you all down on the spot so I don't have to track you down again. You might have a large army and a Cyrus, but I have a vicious Mew and Mewtwo… You can take your chances with them or with me- I don't really care which," Sam finished and snapped his phone shut.

Matt raised his eyebrows. "You've talked to Mewtwo?"

"Of course not! I'm far too busy for that," Sam answered dismissively. "But Melanie doesn't know that and what she doesn't know can't hurt us."

* * *

**AN:** Well... I suck. Anyway, 18 is pretty well underway and now that the district art show is over, I can go back to not having a life or a job. With any luck, I can finish GSTA before May starts because then I'll have grad parties to deal with and just... Ugh.

Big thank you to my beta, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

**Thanks for reading and/or reviewing**

And for putting up with my bullshit.


	18. Chapter 18

No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

_About one year ago._

_Sam stood in front of Riley's desk quietly, waiting for whatever it was that Riley had to tell him- something very important. While Riley struggled to put his words together, Sam pulled at the black military-style jacket that was standard uniform for the Commanders. He hated the uniform and was very vocal with that (and other complaints)._

"_I know you think I don't do much, but I don't have all day, Riles," Sam finally said, breaking the silence and using the hated nickname._

_Riley sighed. "I understand… I've just got this feeling that I'm not as in control of the Guild as I thought I was." He watched Sam's face carefully. Other than a mildly sarcastic raise of one eyebrow, the stoic, scarred face of his friend betrayed nothing. "We've been making a lot of progress in terms of power, but something… Something is rotten. Truthfully, I'm not sure what to do about it, so I thought I'd ask you."_

_Sam nodded slowly, seeming to digest the information before shrugging loosely. "Riles, the best thing you can do for the Guild right now is grow a pair and start making your own decisions."_

_Riley frowned at the statement and the callous way it was delivered, though in truth, he'd become very appreciative of the brutal honesty and was usually at least a little amused by it. "I was thinking along a similar line… Though not quite so insulting."_

"_You asked my opinion, you got it," Sam returned unapologetically._

_Riley shrugged. "True, but that's beside the point. I am fairly convinced that the Guild needs a tough leader with a full grasp of the inner workings and of the enemies that pursue us… I've received a few lessons from you, but I'm really only good with the political orientation, and it's highly out of my control."_

_Sam narrowed his dark eyes. "Where are you going with this, Riles?"_

"_I don't think I'm the right man to be sitting at the desk anymore," Riley stated in answer. "The title of 'lord of the Guild' is a highly flexible role that can be changed at any given moment... And I am conferring the role to you."_

_Sam stared at him blankly with a stupefied expression on his face. "W… What?!"_

_Riley smiled and shrugged. "It's the smart decision. But, of course, I don't want to force you into this, so do you accept?"_

_Sam plopped down in the chair in front of his desk quietly and thought on the proposition, the shock leaving his features for a far more intelligent and appraising look. "You know I don't like titles or being king of anyone or thing."_

"_I know."_

_Sam eyed his friend with calculating eyes. "You also know that I don't deal in pretty politics or anything involving paperwork."_

_Riley chuckled, thinking of Ryan who he had insisted on to handle all the records and papers he was suddenly supposed to fill out and the hard-handed way he dealt with the army under his command. "I am acutely aware."_

"_Then you should also know that while I might seem like the perfect fit now, in the long run, my shortcomings would be very problematic."_

"_Better you than anyone else. I'm afraid I've left a pretty big mess for whoever takes my place to deal with."_

"_A mess that you expect me to clean up?" Sam returned with narrowed eyes._

_Riley shrugged. "Well… Yes. And granted I haven't quite grasped the full situation yet, but I think that this is a mess that you want to go away just as much as I do."_

_Sam shifted uncomfortably, torn between having no desire to take Riley's spot and acknowledging that it was his best chance to do what needed to be done. "I'll accept on a few conditions…" he finally said slowly._

* * *

Shamus sat slumped over her desk, brows furrowed together with frustration. The regions were in desperate need of their help, but the International Police just didn't know what to do in response to the two apparently warring criminal syndicates- and she could only identify one with a shred of confidence. The Brotherhood was easy to pick out- they stood on the frontlines like a proud fool with bands of Rocket, Galactic, and Plasma operatives roaming the regions and stirring up all kinds of trouble. They also ran an enterprise known as Covenant Corporations that offered supplies, gear, and shelters to those who needed it. Of course, the price was often loyalty. The other competitor had gone entirely off grid- the Guild. For a while, she'd been able to dig up information about them since they, too, were well grounded in daily life. Then it was gone without a trace. But the Brotherhood certainly wasn't fighting itself. One thing did become very clear- the moment the Guild disappeared, a fair amount of money started circulating to the poor and all of them said that random people gave it to them. It was just kind charity with no name or pledge, but it was extremely beneficial as it became a lot harder for the Brotherhood to buy their loyalty, which, in turn, reduced the number of thefts in general and apparently greatly inspired the rich to give away some of their commodities and their money in the interest of improving the lives of those less fortunate.

Running a hand through her graying hair, Shamus sighed heavily. It was her investigation and thus her duty to find them both and stop them before innocent bystanders got hurt. As it was, it was like a Cold War, just a sense of enmity for each other. Her office door opened to reveal her boss, a slender ginger with purple eyes. "Hey…"

"Office hours, ma'am, it would be best if you were less familiar with me," Shamus returned, her stern look fading into a smile. "I hope you came with ideas because I haven't any."

"The Guild is well and truly hidden, is it?"

"It's like they never existed. One day they're everywhere, the next, they're nowhere. But there's a lot of nice charity going around suddenly," Shamus replied dryly.

"Mmm…" Her boss twirled a lock of copper hair around her fingers. "Then I suppose you should go and find one of these charitable people… And mayhaps locate your dear friend who escaped justice once?"

"Why and how on earth would I do that?" Shamus retorted incredulously.

"Well, if you want to see who these charitable people are, go make yourself look poor and stand on a street corner somewhere and see what happens. As far as your friend goes…"

"That criminal is not my friend," Shamus interrupted coldly.

"Fine, your escaped criminal acquaintance… He seemed pretty well traveled, but I'm pretty sure he's from Hoenn."

"What makes you think that?" Shamus asked flatly.

Her boss shrugged. "Call it instinct. He, from what I heard from the audio, a very nice Unova accent, but he slipped up now and then and I heard that Hoenn trace... Plus he had that lovely Hoenn flair."

Shamus sighed. "I don't understand you."

"You'll learn. For now, just go and sit around out there with a dirty clothes and a pan and see what happens. Who knows- you just might find what you're looking for."

Shamus pursed her lips before sighing again. "That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

Slateport, Hoenn especially, had seemed to only grow more and more peaceful as time went on. They never had a vicious team stealing pokémon or hurting people which left the rest of the world with conflicting feelings. Some people flocked there with their children in hopes that the youngsters would never know the evil of Team Rocket or Galactic or Plasma. Some people said that the region of peace was doomed under the motto that 'nothing golden can stay,' but they didn't quite grasp that Hoenn was peaceful because a small but powerful force warded off anyone who might destroy the fragile peace.

As she sat clothed in mismatched clothes with dirt everywhere and her hair in a tangled mess, even Shamus had to appreciate the region's natural warmth and the carefree atmosphere. There was a real homeless person beside her, heavily crusted in sea salt.

"Ye new 'round 'ere?" he asked her with a cackle lining his voice.

Shamus had to hide her disgust for the rank individual. "Yes…"

"Oh, aye… Ye little flop fish… Ol Giles, came 'ere from a ship. Ye sound like an educated floozie, how ye came aboot 'ere?"

Shamus was about to issue a curt reply when a small black pouch that clinked with coins landed in the homeless Giles lap. He pried it open quickly and pulled out a thick, solid gold coin and bit it ceremoniously to check that it was real. "Aye, sir! Ye ken, that'll do ol' Giles long time!" he said, bowing graciously as he scampered away. Shamus's attention was focused entirely on the man who'd now taken Giles' place on the bench, beside her.

"Shamus… Fancy meeting you again, and here, of all places," Sam commented staring at the sea instead of her for the most part.

"You… I knew it! You're a part of the Guild," Shamus hissed.

Sam flicked his gaze over to her with a sarcastic expression. "Are you going to arrest me for extending charity?"

"I might arrest you for how you got that gold- it's not every day solid gold coins are replacing a handful of bills."

Sam shrugged. "Can't be helped in Giles' case. He would have no way of testing if paper bills are genuine or not and biting them would ruin the money. That ol' flea bag is a simple fellow- he takes uses it to furbish his little shack with carpets and stuffed animals and other little novelties."

"That sounds like a waste of money," Shamus stated.

"It makes him happy, that's all that matters," Sam returned. "But I didn't come here to argue with you about Giles. I am more than aware that the International Police Force is looking to get in on our fight with the Brotherhood."

Shamus watched him carefully, but he seemed completely nonchalant while she sat on edge. "Are you going to tell me where to find the Brotherhood?"

"No. I'm going to tell you to back off. This is not a fight you want to get tangled up in. You leave the Brotherhood to us- we'll handle it," he stated calmly.

"I can't do that," Shamus returned evenly. "They are a threat to the safety of everyone in the five regions- it's my… it's the whole taskforce's duty to bring them to justice."

"That may be, but you can't do it. The Brotherhood is way out of your league, whether you like it or not."

"That is not true," Shamus hissed, grabbing his arm.

His calm expression didn't waver; he seemed to play the part of a very patient father trying to explain something complex to a child. "Who kicked Team Rocket out of Kanto? Who brought them down in Johto? Who took care of Hoenn when Team Aqua and Magma destroyed it? Who took down Team Galactic? Plasma? It wasn't a bunch of young kids and it certainly wasn't you guys."

Shamus fumbled for an answer as he stood up to leave. "Face it, Shamus, you guys aren't trained to handle a large army of well-trained thugs. I am. I've knocked them all down a peg once and this time I'll finish them for good, but you're going to have to stay out of my way."

"And if I should choose not to?" Shamus asked, her blue eyes glinting with determination.

Sam turned around to face her after starting to walk away. "Then a lot of your people will die," he stated flatly before sending Michael a mental signal to teleport him back home.

Riley and Cynthia, the other two members of the triumvirate that governed the Guild now, looked up with surprise as he appeared almost literally out of the blue, but Sam ignored them, cutting straight to the chase as he usually did. "No problems other than the Brotherhood, right?"

Riley nodded. "Most of our old bases have been sold off and the Battle Frontier has been sold to a shrewd, young businessman who is keeping the old proprietor a secret. We removed all evidence of our existence there."

Cynthia leaned on the table. "Robert and Myra are waiting in the Johto Plateau for further orders from you. How did your impromptu meeting with the International Police go?"

Sam sat on the arm of his couch and shook his head with a sigh. "I tried to reason with Shamus, but she didn't listen. At the very least, we'll have to deal with her if not the entire task force."

"Well, that's just lovely," Riley grumbled. "I suppose it doesn't matter too much as long as we can clean out the place before she pinpoints our location. How big of a force are you bringing in?"

"Cynthia, Robert, Myra, Koga, Michael, Mewtwo, Patch, Diana, Sarhan, and Heracles. Add me in and that's all you really need," Sam answered loosely.

Riley grimaced slightly. "That's not a very large number, Sam."

Cynthia answered for him. "Maybe not, but you really don't need a whole lot else when you have Mewtwo. And too many dangerous beings in a limited space with each other… We don't want any friendly fire."

"I see… This is why I leave all the military fighting stuff to you guys. You can actually make sense of it," Riley said with a small smile.

"It would help if you didn't call it 'stuff', Riles," Sam returned dryly.

Riley shrugged. "Maybe… By the way, how are you so sure that the International Police will know where the fight is taking place?"

Sam and Cynthia exchanged glances. "Well, they are buried deep under a peak in Mt. Silver…"

Riley frowned. "You're planning on blowing the top off a mountain, aren't you."

* * *

A lone string of footsteps echoed through the empty fortress halls deep under Mt. Silver starting from Ghetsis's slippered feet as he wandered aimlessly, lost in thought over their predicament. He didn't even hear Cyrus stomp out of the hall, calling his name to get his attention, only Cyrus grabbing his arm and whirling him around snapped the older man out of his thoughts. "Answer me, Ghetsis! Or have you lost your wits as well?"

Ghetsis stared at the sour-faced Cyrus with surprise. "Er… What? Arceus, Cyrus, no need to be rough. I was just trying to think of a solution."

Cyrus scanned the man's face carefully before releasing his hand with as close to a relieved look as his face could manage. "Good… Good. I have been too, and every scheme is more ridiculous than the last. It's a good thing you're still around- I can't be the only one sane here."

Ghetsis scowled at the disrespect towards Melanie. "Watch your tongue, Cyrus. I won't have you speaking ill of her."

"You should hear what our men say- it's far worse," Cyrus returned coldly.

"I'm aware of what they are saying, I just don't care. She didn't give up on me when I had my temporary lapse of conscience, so I won't give up on her. She'll come around, she just needs time," Ghetsis defended optimistically.

"Is she getting any better?" Cyrus asked in a low voice as they approached the chamber that she usually stayed in.

"It's hard to say. She spends all day and night ranting and raving about how Eli is coming to get her… Most of the time she doesn't even realize I'm there- if she does she asks me about things that have already happened. She seems more stuck in the past than anything else," Ghetsis answered.

Ghetsis opened the door and leaned against it, watching the woman rocking herself by the window within. Ghetsis looked sad, Cyrus was a mixture between annoyed, confused, and vaguely sympathetic.

Melanie Monrose, a scourge to all good-hearted people and terror of land and sea, was now a truly pathetic mess. Her long raven black hair had fallen into a tangled and heavily graying mess, Ghetsis had to take care of her every need, as she was no longer capable of caring for herself. He brushed the long hair every day and night, but her constant tugging and raveling it during the day bellied his work.

Her crazed crimson eyes stared at the figment before her- tall, dark-eyed, and imposing… Eli. "You think you're so clever, Eli. So invincible… I knew you'd come back. I knew it. Why have you returned to me? Angry? Come to kill me, eh? Not today… It's tomorrow. Yes, yes, yes. Tomorrow. The hangman's noose will have us all dancing tomorrow," she mumbled quietly, cackling now and then.

Eli eyed her with his typical disgust. "You don't seem too worried. Why is that?"

"Worried? Worried? No, no, no. Not me. Not me because I have a plan… I have a plan."

"You have a plan? Really? … Melanie, you couldn't plan your way out of a paper sack," Eli growled with menace.

"It's there… There is a plan. I DO HAVE A PLAN!" she shouted at him furiously and threw the pillow near her at the invisible demon.

His voice and image didn't waver. "Then what is it? You know you can't protect yourself from me. You never could- you had to send your pet to try and kill me."

"I don't want to talk to you. You're evil… You're a monster," she murmured.

"Is that so?" he asked with a trace of sarcasm. His face never changed- he never smiled or laughed. Happiness was not something he knew. That, or he just didn't know how to express it. "If I'm a monster, what does that make you?"

"Better… Better than you. You and your plague of death and evil."

"You're no better than I."

"You slaughtered pokémon for sport and shredded women and children without mercy or guilt," she snarled.

"And you are a patron to it. That doesn't make your hands any less stained," he answered coldly. "And when you die tomorrow, you and I will be truly reunited… I look forward to it- I never did get a chance to kill you, but there will be time enough for that soon enough."

"No… No, no, NO. I don't want to… I don't want to go! I_ DON'T WANT T_-"

Ghetsis intervened at this point, and the shattered mind pulled itself to a still incomplete form. "Mel? Hey… Hey, darling, what's the matter?"

Melanie stared at him incomprehensively. "Er… Yes, yes, of course. I'm fine, Gareth."

Ghetsis let go of her and stepped back, eyeing her carefully as she slipped back into her daze. Eli reappeared to her. "So, what _is_ your brilliant strategy?"

Melanie stared at the window, the tattered inner workings of her mind spit out one last complex thought in the form of a plan to save their lives. "I won't just let you storm in here and kill all my men. You forget… I'm too smart for you. I can't stop you, but I can cheat you. I did it often, remember? I'll split my forces… Send some away. Won't see that coming, will you? I already have a contingency. If I die, Cyrus and Vidar will take over whoever is left. You will only know if we all leave, all I have to do is send enough to regenerate. How does that sound? Not so confident now, are you?"

Eli stared at her with abysmal black eyes. "Clever girl… We'll see. You underestimate how far I will go to end you and your ilk."

"We shall see indeed," Melanie cackled crazily, resuming her rocking and mutterings so quiet that no one could hear them, her mind finally reeling back to its chaos.

Ghetsis and Cyrus exchanged shocked glances. Cyrus broke the silence with a heavy sigh, "It would be the lady who's completely unhinged who comes up with the only sensible plan."

* * *

Shamus sat at her desk, searching the regions for any sign of the Guild or Brotherhood. If the Guild had found the base, then surely she could too. Maps and reports from all over were littered all over her desk and cabinets behind her. The smell of coffee hit her nose and she looked up to see her boss holding the steaming foam cup. "Thought you could use some to keep yourself going." She set it down and sat on the edge of her desk, holding the stack papers that had been there.

"You're a lifesaver," Shamus said with a slight smile as she picked it up to take a drink.

"SO, you didn't tell me how the Hoenn Homeless trip went."

Shamus sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Met a little fleabag named Giles… Who scurried off when Samuel appeared."

Her boss raised her eyebrows. "Ooh… How did he seem to be doing?"

"Fine," Shamus returned coldly. "Though I don't know why you're concerned with that. Anyway, he warned us to stay out of the whole Guild vs. Brotherhood thing."

"And?"

"And I told him the same thing I'm going to tell you if you try to stop me- that it's my job which means that I will be involved," Shamus said evenly.

"I wouldn't dream of standing in your way," she returned, though gears were clearly turning in her head as to how to, at the least, protect her.

It was cut off as a breathless officer rushed in. "Ma'am, you're never going to believe this! Mewtwo just appeared- he collapsed a whole peak in the Silver Mountain Range in Johto!"

"What?!"

"I know!" the officer returned. "The Indigo League is securing Victory Road and making sure that it's safe."

Shamus grabbed her issue pistol. "That must be the Guild- I'm going."

"Shay… Try not to get hurt, okay? If nothing else, try to stick with the Guild- they're more likely to protect you than kill you."

"Noted," she returned before striding through the halls- all the other detectives knew where she was going and why and they all stared at their desks with slightly guilty expressions. They didn't want to get hurt or killed- they had families. It didn't concern her- she stepped into their high-powered teleporters and set the destination for the Indigo League.

The guards stared at the International Detective with shock and stumbled over formal greetings that fell on deaf ears as she ignored them. In her head, she tried to figure out what she was going to do when she got there. Stepping outside, it wasn't hard to figure out where the collapsed mountain was as a dusty mushroom cloud was still fading from it. "What the hell are you up to…" Shamus questioned under her breath as she released her trusted Noctowl from its pokéball.

She'd had the old bird since it was just a hatchling hoothoot from the day care outside Goldenrod and she had trained him by her side ever since, so when it saw the trademark cloud of trouble it already knew where its master wanted to go, which was right into the heart of danger.

The great owl bore its light trainer into the sky and hovered around the top of the crumbled mountain- eyeing it for enemies. Being a pokémon and a predator, it could sense that a far more powerful pokémon had graced the mountain and shied away for a moment before quirking one flying eyebrow and slowly making its way down. All the while, Shamus clung tight and looked across the mountains for any sign of forces readying to shoot them out of the sky.

Blunderbuss the Noctowl landed in the yawning gap in the mountain and on the ruined marble-tiled floor below. The name hardly fit the graceful bird, but he hadn't ever objected to the name as far as Shamus was concerned. She hopped off his muscled back cautiously; service pistol in hand prepared to shoot any hostile that may show their face and a flashlight in the other to bring light to the darkness that had fallen with the lights. Heavy chandeliers had fallen to the floor and cracked the expensive tiles as well as some bones in some very unfortunate people who looked like Brotherhood operatives to her. One of them was still breathing- sort of.

She knelt beside him as he tried to claw his way from under one of the large fallen chandeliers, his chest-raking sobs almost lost under the heavy clash of massacre somewhere in the labyrinth. "Who did this?"

He looked at up her with already clouding eyes. "Who do you think?" he spat at her.

"The Guild?" she answered, getting no response out of the dying man other than a string of curses. "Which way did they go?" Still getting nothing useful, she grabbed the man by the ear and twisted it harshly. "HEY! Which way did they go?"

He groaned and spat again. "Down the hall- follow the blood…"

Shamus looked at the destruction around her, but it was complete. Every hall, every passage had been combed through so it was impossible to tell where they were, just where they had been. When she looked back to the less than cooperative man, the life had left him. Blunderbuss was forced to do an ungainly hop-skip to get to her over the rubble and bodies. With a sigh of irritation, she started walking down the hall. _Nothing left to do but move forward_.

The further she went into the heart of the mountain base, the more chaos hung in the air and the more brutal the massacre became. Some of the bodies were absolutely diced, some looked like pincushions with arrows sticking out of their flesh, some whipped, some mauled, some flung at the rock hard walls so hard they were just bits of bone wrapped in bags of flesh, others crushed into pulps, some looked like they had exploded, but most unsettling were the corpses of bodies that had been absolutely ravaged by something clearly driven by hatred.

_Just what kind of monsters are in here with me?_

Blunderbuss squawked suddenly when the roaring of pokémon and screams were at their loudest. Shamus thought that perhaps the great owl had stumbled over something since he didn't fare particularly well on the ground. Turning around, it was clear that Blunderbuss was looking up. Shamus barely had time to turn her head again before a blunt object slammed into her head with stunning force. Stars burst in her vision and blackness threatened to take hold. The pistol was yanked from her faltering hands. She looked up dazedly to see the allegedly deceased poison master, Koga.

She fought to remain conscious. Another voice sounded and she found herself being dragged by her arms through the halls after a brief conversation between the two. Blunderbuss complained faithfully about the events, but wasn't stirred into fighting. Blearily, Shamus realized it was because the noctowl looked absolutely petrified and she dimly realized it must be because it could sense Mewtwo nearby.

The screams of the dying rang through her battered conscious. But that gradually faded to a lot of groans of the soon to be dead. Koga and the other person ceased dragging her, letting her sit down and hold her head. Someone else knelt before her. Her now triple vision made it impossible to tell who it was, but she tried to shove away the hand that reached for her face defensively. This was apparently not acceptable as that hand was suddenly held in a vice grip and the other smacked away from her face.

"Fighting me is not going to help your head, Shamus."

Shamus squinted hard at his face to ensure before swearing vexedly. "Now now, such language!" Sam returned, gently fingering the bleeding bump on her head. "Arceus, Koga, you didn't have to give her a concussion…"

"She surprised me. I figured better incapacitated than a dead friend or healthy enemy," Koga answered with a shrug.

The other person spoke and Shamus couldn't help but snap that direction with a look of surprise bordering on horror. "We don't have a lot of time, Sam. What should we do?"

"Cynthia?!" Shamus gasped.

Sam grabbed her by the chin and turned her face back to face him so could continue wiping the blood out of her eyes and away from the cut. "Yes, that would be Cynthia. Now, to answer your question, Cynthia, we can't leave our dutiful officer here with a gash like this… But, thankfully, I don't think you'll need stitches…"

"You a doctor too?" Shamus grumbled.

Sam didn't answer her question, he just took the bandage he had prepared quickly and fixed it to her forehead. Almost immediately, a cool sensation flooded her brain where hot pain had flashed. He stood up and offered her a hand. She stared at him. "What did you just do?"

"I helped you," he answered with a tired sigh. "Now, I'm pretty sure you didn't recklessly disregard my warning just to sit on the floor the whole time."

With a deep scowl, she grabbed his offered hand and allowed him to pull her upright. She saw Blunderbuss chatting it up with a rugged-looking audino. "Thank you…" Looking past him, she saw two others- a somber man with a powerful, technical crossbow and a petite woman with dark pink curls and a 9-tailed whip known as a Cat.

"Vell, dat vas not part of dey plan," the woman hissed.

"It is now," Cynthia returned.

The petite woman snorted. "Pshah. Vhoo is to say dat the voman vill not turn us all in? Ve should just get rid of her."

The somber man turned a baleful eye at his companion. "Because killing her would just make things worse."

She opened her mouth to complain again, but Sam interrupted her. "You can complain all you want and tell me how much of an idiot you think I am later. For now, I require your… Skills."

With a pouty frown, she seceded to the charming smile. "Vine… Vhat do you vant me to do?"

"We are going to find someone who's still alive and see where we might find Melanie and her band of merry men," he answered with surprising good humor considering the bloody battlefield they were standing on.

She returned a sadistic smile. "Alright. Let us see if ve can vind one still breathing…" She took his arm, taking care not to get too close to the sharp, blood-covered blade on his gauntlets.

Finding her head clearing immensely and alone with Koga, Cynthia, and the sober stranger, Shamus took stock of the demolition crew. Besides Cynthia and her roserade and lucario, Koga with his toxins and blades, and Mewtwo standing farther off, there was the audino, a hydreigon licking a tuft of ruffled fur down, a bisharp jabbing at invisible enemies as it pranced back and forth, a golurk standing in the corner playing with its massive hands shyly, a very feral-looking mightyena that stalked after Sam, and, oddly enough, an abra that was squeaking animatedly with Blunderbuss now.

"So… How did the Champion of Sinnoh and the dead Elite Four member come to such a low way of life?" Shamus asked bitterly, still watching the abra.

Cynthia scowled, her long, coveted blonde hair held fast in a ponytail. "If you are referring to doing what is necessary to protect the regions from these monsters, and doing so better than you could ever hope to, then I guess the answer would be that I got tired of waiting for someone else to be the hero for me."

Koga didn't seem to care enough to respond, since he didn't. Shamus swallowed hard and looked at the other man as screams started erupting from some poor man was probably wishing he were dead right now. He caught her gaze with his equally blue eyes. "Wondering who I am?"

"Naturally," she answered.

He shrugged. "Good luck finding out," he said once a peal of screaming was cut short.

Sam and the woman with the Cat returned shortly. "According to our departed friend, the side passages are empty. The widest one down the center is where he saw Ghetsis flee to after he realized that there was no escape."

Mewtwo stepped forward and spoke aloud through his advanced telepathy. "Your information seems correct. I don't sense many more people left."

Much to her surprise, Sam didn't seem very pleased to hear this. The woman saw the vague frown on his face and threw her hands up with an expressive sigh. "Vhy are you never happy!?"

"I know she has a ring of friends… One of them was one of our own, Jay Harvey, as you should all remember," he answered. This seemed to quiet the loud woman, though she clicked her tongue testily. "He told us about seven others and Adyran, who has probably been replaced. Going by description, we still haven't found Elva Ramsey or Mona Klein which means-"

"That they aren't here," Cynthia finished grimly.

"You think they called your bluff?" the archer asked, preparing his crossbow for another volley.

Sam shook his head. "Not exactly. I'm guessing they got desperate and Melanie sent some men away to see if she could get away with it. It had to have been last night or something considering the number that we've run into."

Shamus couldn't contain herself. "Mona Klein… You mean 'Dollie'? That criminal who steals and slaughters pokémon?"

"If you want a list, Shamus, it'll have to wait," Sam returned, cutting her short. "Mewtwo, Koga, Myra, Patch, and Diana, take the left passage and check to make sure that it's clear. Cynthia, Robert, Sarhan, and Hercules, take the right."

Robert, the archer as Shamus realized, paused as the group divided into the ordered parties. "What if you run into Cyrus?"

"He's not here," Sam answered confidently. "If she snuck out men, which she clearly did, she would have sent away the boy and Cyrus for sure. It will just be her and Gareth and they won't be a problem."

Robert nodded slowly and turned to follow his odd group to the right passage across the battlefield.

Sam turned to her. "You'll be coming with me."

"Why?" Shamus asked suspiciously.

"Because the rest of them don't agree with me and would much rather kill you," he answered with a careless shrug. "I told you not to show up for a very good reason, Shamus… I wish you would have listened, but I figured that was too much to hope for."

Shamus scowled, but thus far, this was certainly looking like a mistake on her part, though she had come across some very good information considering who was in the Guild. Sensing that they were about to head off, the abra tugged Blunderbuss over by the wing, still squeaking. Now that the tiny pokémon was closer, Shamus could tell that it was a female, and an odd one at that.

She tugged on Sam's hand until he picked her up and flailed her arms excitedly as she relayed something to him that he, to her surprise, seemed to follow. An unpleasant feeling settled in her gut. "You can talk to pokémon?" she asked, remembering the last person with that ability and knowing that it had not gone well for Unova.

Sam glanced at her seriously. "Yes. Cat tells me that you named your noctowl Blunderbuss, but you should know that he doesn't like that name. He'd prefer you called him, Wardenclaw Grimhunter."

Shamus gaped at the stoic Noctowl beside her. "Seriously?"

"No, of course not! That would be ridiculous," Sam answered with a short laugh. Shamus had to fight the urge to shoot him. Cat, the little abra, clamored again for his attention and continued to tell him something- or at least that's what seemed to be happening. He had turned and was heading for the hall that potentially held whatever woman they kept referring to and Gareth, who Shamus correctly assumed was Ghetsis.

Once the abra stopped, he spoke to her again. "Anyway, to seriously answer your question, no, I can't understand what pokémon say. I just hear voices in my head that I can only assume belong to my dear, psychotic pokémon."

"You hear voices…?" Shamus repeated slowly.

"Telepathy… It's weird and a little bit unwelcome at first, but you get used to it."

Shamus pulled at her eyebrows. "What am I doing?"

"You are following me to take down someone you have been adamantly pursuing for a while now and if you don't pay attention to where you're going, you are going to fall on your face," Sam answered, pulling her away from tripping on a corpse.

Shamus bit down a harsh response. As much as she wanted to just shoot him or, better yet, arrest him for the sake of justice, she realized that they were at a stalemate. If she killed him, she had no doubt that the others would make short work of her. At the same time, if he killed her, he risked being hunted by the International Police even more actively than before. Still, her hand hovered above on the trigger of her pistol.

Her distrustful stare, uncomfortable shifting, and the finger ready to pull the trigger on him did not go unnoticed. While she had every right to have the weapon out and ready, it still made Sam a little nervous. After being shot once, he had a very strict gun-control policy; if there was a gun, he wanted to be in control of it. "Could I convince you to not point that at me?" Sam asked her, guiding them down the hall and listening intently for any sign of the leaders as Michael foraged ahead with his strong Mightyena nose.

Shamus scowled. "No."

"Hmm… Well, Kitty-Cat, I have job for you," he said to the abra draped across his shoulder.

"_Jahb? Wot izitt?"_ she asked excitedly- always happy to assist.

"I need you to keep a close watch on Shamus… Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

Cat puffed out her little chest confidently. _"Iz kin do dat,"_ she answered cheerfully.

Having no idea what the full conversation was, Shamus could only guess that Cat understood him as she went from eyeing anything that glittered to staring intently at Shamus. In her mild shock, she had let the pistol aim uselessly at the floor.

"Your abra… Is staring at me."

Sam sighed as he looked around a door frame into a disappointingly empty room. "I should hope so. That's what I told her to do."

"Well, it's… Weird. Make her stop," Shamus argued, lifting the pistol again, earning a prominent scowl from the abra. A silent war of expressions and gestures began- Shamus made a determined face and shook her head, Cat growled at her, Shamus pursed her lips in a straight line and fingered the trigger again (since she could hear noises up ahead echoing through the halls), and Cat finished by drawing one of her bronze claws across her neck and pointing at Shamus with another growl.

Not knowing how to respond to that, Shamus stared stupefied at the small, apparently intelligent creature. Finally, she decided to just ignore it and focus on the dangerous territory that they were slowly sneaking into. She walked the dark rooms go by- most of them empty.

"This must be the barracks… All the good soldiers were probably shipped out with Cyrus, if your theory is correct," Shamus mused aloud, quietly. "How many do you think stayed? Who do you think left? … What do you think Ghetsis has planned? And who is this woman you keep mentioning?"

"Shh!" Sam suddenly interrupted and stopped, Shamus nearly ran into him.

"What? Do you hear something?" she asked tentatively.

"No, I just want you to be quiet," he answered, apparently serious for once, as he seemed to hold some type of conversation with the mightyena.

While he wasn't looking, she pointed her pistol at his head and pretended to fire it as a silent means relieving frustration. Cat didn't take kindly to the gesture and fired a fiery fist in Shamus' general direction. She got the message while inwardly trying to figure out how in the world an abra knew Fire Punch.

"_I can hear the witch up ahead,"_ Michael mentally conferred to him as the exchange between Cat and Shamus went down.

_So Melanie is still here… Then Ghetsis is definitely still around. Are we alone, or is there a nasty surprise waiting for us?_

Michael shook his head and snorted, indicating that the hall was deserted. Sam frowned. _That's almost too convenient. Then again, if I were one of her underlings, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near her either. Especially if that grunt was telling the truth._ In the confession Myra extracted from the poor grunt, he had spat at Melanie's name and said that she'd gone absolutely mad and was ranting and raving nearly 24/7. _They probably avoided her like the plague._

Shrugging off the thoughts, he decidedly stopped looking into to all the rooms and focused on finding Melanie and Gareth, who were most likely together, and even if they weren't, there was no escaping Michael. Shamus didn't quite catch on and he heard her stumbling and stammering something after him after being left behind. _At least she's not pointing her gun at me- that's a start. And she's being quiet._

He heard Melanie first, his ears much more sensitive than Shamus'. It sounded like she was screaming, not just ranting. It was a like the howl of an injured cat- loud and high-pitched and then it faded into a truly psychotic laugh. A slight chill ran down his spine and it deeply unsettled him, for a moment. A few more feet and Shamus had noticed that he had gone from completely relaxed to looking very tense and a hand settled on the hilt of one dangerous looking dagger belted to his side. Even his face had lost that characteristic joking air and seemed very grim.

"Are we getting close?" Shamus asked, just before another wailing bout of laughter erupted from some evil source, and she heard this one this time as it was much closer than before. "Arceus, shit!"

Sam gestured her to station herself at the corner of the hallway. She wanted to ask why, but he was clearly several moves ahead of her, so she let it be. Soon, she heard what he had heard seconds before- the sound of someone running. The mightyena at his side melted into the shadows, leaving nothing to be seen but glowing eyes. Looking into the deep pools of golden amber, she could see the unsettling intelligence and the blood-thirst that was rising from the deep black pupils. It was a frightening monster.

Shamus would have expected it to growl, but it remained perfectly silent, like it knew that silence was of the essence. Cat, the abra, fidgeted meanwhile. A slight nod from Sam and Michael understood that he was find this person and detain him before he rounded the corner. To accomplish his task, he chose an even stealthier form- his natural mew and made himself invisible. Shamus cursed under her breath and her eyes became as wide as saucers. She gaped at Sam, as if the fact that his mightyena was secretly a mew should has come as a shock to him. Instead of getting a reaction from him, she found him leaning against the wall with his eyes closed like he was planning on sleeping. A string of curses ran through her head the she didn't dare say aloud as whoever was running down the hall got even closer. As he got closer, her heart beat faster and louder. She was almost certain that he was going to turn the corner and find them when a vicious growl sounded as well as the heavy thud of the person hitting the floor hard. A pistol skittered past them on the floor. Within the second, Sam had slid out from behind his corner, grabbed Gareth, slammed him against the wall and dealt a serious punch to the face to clarify that he meant business.

Gareth, or Ghetsis as Shamus knew him, sputtered and stared fearfully at Sam and the mightyena once again standing at his heels. "Where is she, Gareth?" Sam asked, a cold and dangerous tone in his voice that Shamus had not heard before.

He didn't seem so keen on answering. "I'll find her whether you tell me or not; you have the choice of cooperating or not."

"I choose to not cooperate," Gareth spat back.

Sam held him where he was, pinned to the wall in a chokehold by his shirt. "Shamus… Do you have a special prison to detain especially dangerous criminals?"

Shamus slid out from behind the corner and ended up standing next to Cat. "Yes, we do," she answered with a cold and steely voice.

Gareth stared at her with openly confused eyes. Sam answered the unspoken question. "She's from the International Police and she came here of her own will, but I'm pretty sure she's got her heart set on using those handcuffs to take someone in and it's going to be me."

"I thought for sure you would just kill him like you did everyone else," Shamus commented coldly, masking her curiosity.

"Because that is much too easy on him. You have one of the most famous faces in the world right now, Gareth, and even if this prison is at the end of the Earth, the inmates there will know about all the horrible things that you've done and they don't take kindly to people who hurt children," Sam stated evenly, eyes glinting with hatred. "The guards won't let you die, and the inmates will make sure that you suffer."

Shamus suppressed a shudder, knowing that it was true. Ghetsis, or Gareth as she gathered, would be subject to the volatile nature of dangerous criminals. It was in many ways cruel and evil, but it was definitely a suitable punishment for him- and she wouldn't even have to deal with a trial. They already knew that he was guilty since he had practically admitted it. "You're going to be locked up in a dark cell for the rest of your miserable days without a scrap of sunlight," Shamus stated, moving beside Sam and snapping the handcuffs around the frail older man's wrists roughly.

"Michael, keep a hold of him," Sam ordered. The mightyena transformed again, this time into a machamp and grabbed the unfortunate man, who had lapsed into a pouty silence, and slung him over his shoulders, drawing a gasp of surprise and a quiet groan of pain at being handled so roughly.

"Melanie can't be too far now… Michael, just stay here with Cat- I can handle Melanie," Sam stated, nodding to the now machamp. Cat squeaked a protest, but it went ignored. Shamus decided to walk right beside Sam instead of right behind him. She still didn't trust him that much, but at the moment, he wasn't being too terrible.

Gradually, a low cackling laugh started coming to her ears. Shamus shuddered even though she tried to suppress it. Other than an increasingly more grim look coming over his face, Sam didn't seem too disturbed by it. He was really just far more focused on what exactly to do with her. It hadn't taken him long to figure out what he wanted to do with Gareth, Cyrus, and Vidar, but Melanie Monrose was a trickier case. The fact that she was no longer sane wasn't helping. For as evil as she was and as much he hated her, she did have some semblance of morals and she had been helpful to him, at times.

_I'll just have to see what happens,_ he mused to himself, staying true to his own nature of doing what was had to be done and not necessarily what he wanted and no matter what, Melanie was an enemy that he didn't want breathing for too much longer.

The laughter was finally close enough that clearly the woman was nearby, just closer than he thought. Turning the corner, he found her. She was sitting on the floor in a black robe and apparently white nightgown, her black hair in a tangled mess, rocking back and forth and continuously giggling and muttering in turns.

"What the hell?" Shamus breathed,

"She has well and truly lost it," Sam remarked flatly, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. He sighed. "Give me a second to talk to her. She probably has some type of weapon on her so if she tries to do something, shoot her… Please."

Shamus nodded grimly. "Only because you're my ticket out of here alive."

"That's the spirit," he returned dryly with fake enthusiasm. Melanie didn't seem to be aware that they were even near her. She continued her crazed muttering. Getting closer to her, Sam was able to make out what she was really saying.

"You thought you could beat me… Now what? Hee hee, you lost. I cheated you. I was good at that. I was always good at that… Eli," she told the ghostly image before her.

Sam flinched. _Eli? She's… Talking to my father?_ Curious, he listened since apparently it was Eli she was locked in a psychological battle with, though Shamus was clearly impatient.

"The boy, Cyrus, they escaped! And so did all of my most trusted agents. They are all out there, rebuilding! Hee hee hee.. And there's nothing you can do!"

Eli shook his head. "Your agents are nothing without someone to lead them and you and I both know that Cyrus can't lead them efficiently."

"He'll do well enough and I… I raised that boy. He's a genius- he'll do well by me," she argued.

"He's still just a boy and he's sheltered- he might have your intellect, but he doesn't have the capability to fight off anyone and especially not me," Eli returned flatly.

"That's what Cyrus is for…" Melanie muttered angrily.

Eli laughed shortly, a harsh dark laugh. "Cyrus? Do you really think he can beat me? That's rich. He'll be short work for me."

Melanie glowered at the wall. "Monster," she growled.

Sam didn't quite follow the whole conversation, but he could assume that whoever she was talking to was antagonizing her. He was kneeling right beside her now. Her black locks hid her face perfectly.

"I'll kill you," she swore.

Eli shrugged. "Not before I kill you first," he said before seeming to lunge to her left.

Melanie turned that way and gasped, her crimson eyes seeming to glow in the dark and found herself nearly face to face with Sam, who was so startled that he jumped back with a curse and Shamus fired at the creepy lady. Blood burst from the new hole in Melanie's chest and she sagged towards the ground.

Sam stared at the dark form and shuddered. "Eww…"

Shamus was incredibly jumpy now. "What the hell is wrong with her? That is the creepiest… _thing_ I've ever seen."

Sam shook his head and let out a calming breath, just as on edge now as Shamus. "She was always pretty creepy. She seemed to be talking to… Someone."

"Okay… Well, she's dead now so it's okay," Shamus reassured herself, then paused. "She is dead right?"

"Hell, I hope so," Sam returned. "Maybe you should shoot her a couple extra times, just in case."

"That's not such a bad i-" Shamus stopped midsentence, as one of Melanie's hands twitched and something glinted. "Sam, move!"

Without questioning, Sam ducked towards the wall, the bullet grazing his shoulder and hitting the light in the hallway. In the darkness, she skittered off, still chuckling. "You won't get me, Eli. I'm too fast for you," she cackled to herself, holding the gun close to her bleeding chest. The injury wasn't even registering in her brain.

Sam cursed several times and Shamus stood frozen to the spot. "What the hell!?"

"Evil never dies, I suppose," Sam commented. "Next time, shoot her in the head."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that next time. If we can find her, and I'm not sure that I want to," Shamus growled back, her nervous and slightly fearful state translating into frustration.

"You really want to leave her alive to do… Whatever she might be capable of?" Sam asked. Shamus glared at him silently. "I thought not. Now, you have the gun- you're going to have to take care of her, but I'll help you find her."

Shamus nodded and Sam stepped away from the wall and started following the pretty obvious trail, recollecting himself slowly. "She couldn't have gotten far…" Turning the corner, the blood trail was pretty clear, even in darkness. Shamus couldn't see much at all, having dropped her flashlight since it gave away their position. Melanie was being a little quieter with her crazed giggling and she was raving less, but Sam could still hear her and followed the sound to the left and then to the right to see her limping down the hall. He motioned Shamus and she didn't have to be told twice to fire two rounds at Melanie's head- one burst through near the base of her skull, the other, at the least, tore her ear off.

"You're not a very good shot," Sam commented.

"And yet I'm still more useful than you at the moment," Shamus returned.

Sam glanced sidelong at her. "Give me the gun and that can change."

"I am not giving you an incredibly dangerous weapon!"

"Were you under the impression I came unarmed?" Sam asked teasingly.

Shamus scowled. She knew full well that even if he was unarmed, he'd still be dangerous. She muttered at him and about him under her breath. He turned away from the mess they'd left and started walking away. "Let's go- might as well tell them the good news."

Shamus started to follow and then froze. "You might want to wait on that."

Sam stopped in his tracts and turned around. "You can't be serious!" Sure enough, the supposedly dead form was still moving and actually appeared to be trying to crawl away. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair with a look of irritation. "Go shoot her point blank… Use whatever shot you've got left."

"That's a little overkill, don't you think?"

"No I don't it is."

Shamus shrugged, gathered herself, and then walked quickly to the struggling body and fired her last three shots. The body was still struggling and it was dark, but she was fairly certain that one of the shots hit as she was fairly certain that an eyeball had fallen out. Sickened she hurried back to Sam. "There. That should take care of that."

She walked away quickly, but Sam didn't follow- he was eyeing the limp form suspiciously. At seeing the faintest of twitches, he grabbed the solid metal lampstand nearby and slammed the heavy weight down twice- one to break her back, the other to her head which was definitely crushed. He considered leaving after that, but decided not to take any chances. He pulled out a small packet and poured the black powder on her body and pulled out a match as he walked away, which he threw one he was far enough away and blew her remains up.

"That, Shamus, was overkill," he told her as the flames of the explosive powder burst and reached out to touch them before falling short.

* * *

**AN:** Long chapter was very long... And very fun. I discovered very quickly that I love Sam and Shamus together almost as much as I love Sam and Matt. It's close anyway.

On a side note, GSTA hit it's two-year's anniversary April 29th (the same day as Pokesims)! I wanted this chapter done for that, (actually, I wanted the whole story done for that) but I digress. If wishes were money, I'd be pretty damn rich.

I have hit a _beautiful _but short stretch of time where I won't have much to do, so I'm pretty set on finishing up the last two chapters of GSTA this weekend... And by last two, I mean The LAST two, one of which being the epilogues to end all epilogues. This fact, though it may sadden you, is a relief to me. I want to be done with this so I can focus on 'The Fall' which I have been dutifully denying myself for some time now.

A hearty 'thank you' to my wonderfully fabulous friend and beta, **DarkAngelTorchic**!

**And thank you to all of you wonderful peeps who read and/or don't review!**

-If, while reading this, you mentally finished Riley's sentence of 'something is rotten', with 'in the state of Denmark,' then you are... Well, I confess to not rightly know... An excellent student of literature... or something.


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